My Personal Dumping Ground
by DrakeRise
Summary: a collection of story fragments for various stories i have waiting to be written. most of them are harry potter but some aren't. various Ratings included. information on each is at the start of each chapter.
1. Chapter 1

So this is my personal dumping ground. Each of the stories featured here are plot bunnies that wouldn't lave me alone until i wrote them down. Many of them I intend to write up as full stories once I have the time but until then, enjoy!

If any of you like an idea featured here and want to write your own story, feel free to do so, just let me know so I can read the stories I helped sow the seed for.

If any of you have any ideas for story Titles or anything, please leave it in a review for that chapter. If I get good responses I will know people like the idea and I will be more likely to write it once I have the time.

Seriously though, if you like a story idea leave a review for that chapter, something like 'cool' or 'this is good' even. the more reviews a chapter has, the more likely i will turn it into a full story someday. if you want to leave a more detailed review, by all means do so, but short, one word ones are also welcomed.

Current Stories include:

Harry Potter (Mostly)

Naruto

The Dragon Rider's of Pern

Tales of Symphonia

Jurassic Park

X-Men Evolution

The Inheritance Cycle (or Eragon, though i'm not really a fan of the movie)

Pokemon

Dawn of the Dragons (an online game)

How to Train Your Dragon (may include a few elements from the books, but not many)

The Gamer


	2. A Different Kind of Magic

Story name: A Different Kind of Magic

Genre: Adventure/Friendship

Rating: T/M

Category: Tales of Syphonia/Inheritance cross over.

* * *

Lloyd looked at the large stone on his desk. It was perfectly smooth and as red as blood. When he tapped it, it sounded hollow but it seemed almost indestructible. He wasn't sure what to do with it other than keep it as an ornament.

Until it started wobbling and making a cracking sound.

...

Red dragon. Name is something to do with fire or red, maybe ruby or something. Gender undecided.

Dragon has ancestral memories that lead it and Lloyd to the island to the west of the Iselia region, find a giant tree with a library in it built by elven magic (from Eragon)

Lloyd learns magic but only tells Dirk, Raine, Genis, Colette, Frank and Phaidra.

Dragon shows up at Iselia temple to help fight off renegades.

Mayor exiles Lloyd for 'bringing a dangerous monster into our village'

Genis goes with Raine, Colette and Kratos.

Lloyd is there when Desians attack village. Takes most of them out. Rescues people from the ranch. Finds activated Exspheres and a large number of key crests. Gives ranch victims key crests and keeps a couple for friends. Flies to meet them.


	3. Back to the Start

Story name: Back to the Start

Genre: Adventure

Rating: T/M

Category: Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**AND THEY WERE NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN**

What? Who's there?

**HMM. INTERESTING...**

SHOW YOURSELF!

**CALM YOUSELF, MORTAL. THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC.**

Who are you? What is going on? Why can't I see?!

**YOUR KIND ARE NOT MEANT TO BE IN THIS REALM... MAYBE MY SISTERS HAVE SOME PLANS FOR YOU...**

Your sisters? Who are you?

**I AM THE CLOSEST THING TO A GOD YOU ARE EVER GOING TO MEET.**

...

**HMM...**

What?

**AS I SAID. NOW, WHAT TO DO WITH YOU? HMM...**

Please, I have to get back. My friends need me. We have to beat Mithos and save the world!

**... HMMM... GO BACK? YES... MAYBE... ALRIGHT. I'LL SEND YOU BACK. TO THE BEGINNING. DON'T MESS UP HISTORY TOO MUCH, MY SIBLINGS AND I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO PEOPLE DESTRYING TIME.**

What are you saying?

**HMMM. PERHAPS A SMALL... GIFT... TO ASIST YOU. DO NOT FAIL THIS TIME. TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED BECAUSE OF MITHOS!**

What?

**DO ****_NOT_**** FAIL ME, LLOYD IRVING! YOU WILL NOT GET ANOTHER CHANCE.**

AHHHHHH!

* * *

Lloyd sat up with a start. His vision swam for a moment before it cleared. He was in his room. He could see much more clearly than before though. He looked down at his lap, there was a book there... What was that? He picked it up and opened the front page.

_Lloyd Irving. Don't panic. My brother, Death, sent you back in time without any instruction. He is rather anti-social like that. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lady Fate. As in, I rule everyone's fate for the length of their natural life. Unfortunately, Mithos outlived his natural life a few thousand years ago so I have no rule over him. This also means he can overrule my plans for other people._

_I know this must be very confusing for you but please, bear with me. My sister, Destiny, and I had great things in mind for you. We normally don't pick favourites and we definitely don't interfere with their lives more than necessary but you are a special case._

_You will not be able to remember the last full twenty four hours of your life but that is no matter. There are more important things than remembering how you died. It was slow and painful anyway so be glad you don't remember._

_This manual details how to use the gifts my siblings and I have given you._

_Use them well._

_I have all faith that you will succeed this time._

_Fate._

_Ps. Don't tell anyone your from the future. Don't reveal major events before they happen. Don't save Corinne, we have bigger plans for the little fox than what he is right now. You can't save marble or Genis won't get his Exsphere and he needs that. You can 'remember' Kratos after seeing him so you can spend time with you father as his son._

_Any more rules will be added as we think of them. You will know when one appears._

_PPs, it is two days before the oracle arrives. Pretend to be sick so you can read the book, your dad will believe you._

Lloyd took a deep breath and lay back down, tucking the book under his pillow as he did so. Not looking at that just yet. He stared at the ceiling for a bit until he heard his dad stomping up the stairs. He covered his ears. Did he have to be so loud?

Lloyd closed his eyes and curled into a ball on the bed.

Dirk came into the room. "Lloyd! Get up! Yer gonna be late fer school!" he walked over to the window and threw in open. He turned back to Lloyd and saw him curled up on the bed. "Lloyd? Ya haven't slept curled up like that since ya were a babe. Are ya alright?"

Lloyd whimpered. "Stop shouting..." he whispered.

Dirk walked over to the bed. He spoke quietly. "Ah'm not shoutin' son. Are ya feelin' alright?"

Lloyd whimpered again. "Loud..."

Dirk laid a hand on Lloyd's forehead. "Ya don't have a fever."

Lloyd whimpered. "Please... stop yelling..."

Dirk sighed quietly and spoke as quietly as possible. "What's wrong Lloyd?"

Lloyd tried to open his eyes but shut them again. "Mmm... bright..."

Dirk tiptoed across the room and shut the window again. "Is that better?"

Lloyd just whimpered. Dirk sighed and left the room.

Lloyd sighed in relief when Dirk left the room. Did he have to be so loud? He pulled the manual out and opened it up. The second page was a contents. There was only one other page at the moment. 'Introduction.' The page opposite the contents was blank

Lloyd turned the page and looked at the introduction.

Welcome to your manual, Lloyd.

This manual has been specially designed with you in mind. New bits of the manual will become available as you progress.

The first and foremost thing you need to know is that, while you can still learn everything you did before, you will need to train yourself to use them.

Your body is the same as it was before so you will need to learn everything again.

There is one change though.

Since your father was an angel, that makes you a half angel. You can't access your wings just yet, you will be able to by the time you reach the Tower of Salvation if you train hard enough. Now, along with wings you also have heightened sense of sight, hearing and smell. It will take a while before you are used to it so be prepare for a lot of headaches.

There are also a lot of other things you should know.

All will be detailed in the manual. If you have any questions about anything in the manual you may consult us in the HELP section which has now become available at the back of the manual.

Lloyd looked at the back page and saw the 'help' page. He flipped back to the contents and saw the help page was now listed at the bottom of the page. He turned back to the introduction and carried on reading.

As you can see, new pages are listed on the contents and previously blank pages will gain writing as you unlock the contents.

You are the only person who can read this book. To anyone else it will appear to be in dwarfish. If they can read dwarfish it will appear as some other language that no one can recognise.

To save space we have decided to make the book interactive in a sense. Each page is one topic. To see further down the page, place your finger on the page and slide it up.

Lloyd realised this line was at the bottom of the page so he did as the book suggested and slid his finger up the page. He was slightly surprised when the text moved with his finger.

Good, you can also zoom in on something or make text bigger. Place to fingers on the screen and slide them away from each other.

There was something written below it but it was too small for Lloyd to read. He placed his finger and thumb on the screen and slid them away from each other. He smiled when the page 'zoomed in' on the smaller text, making it bigger.

To zoom back out, place two fingers on the screen and pull them closer together.

Lloyd did so.

While zoomed in you can move the screen around, such as if you are looking at a map and zoomed in to see more detail. Simply slide your finger across the screen to move the map, like you did with the text. Simple.

Now, turn the page and find out more about your gifts.

Lloyd turned the page.

The menu screen.

The menu screen is something we thought of that would substantially benefit you in the sub-sequential

_Hey, Keep it simple. We thought this would help in the future._

Yes... well said...

Lloyd blinked... two people? The second writing was the same as was on the letter on the first page but the first one was the same as the introduction...

Firstly, to close the menu, Just think – 'Menu-close'. To open it, think 'Menu-open'

Lloyd jumped back in surprise as boxes filled his vision. He stared at them for a moment before thinking 'menu-close'. The boxes disappeared.

Lloyd sighed and read the 'manual'. It got confusing at some points but Lloyd figured out what they meant quickly enough. It took nearly all day for him to figure out the menu and various other things these beings had done. Dirk came up a few times and brought Lloyd food. He didn't eat any of it. He wasn't really hungry and he really wanted to figure out this menu thing.

By evening Dirk sat down with Lloyd on his bed. He whispered. "How are ya feeling now lad?"

Lloyd sighed. "My head hurts a lot. It hurts to hear and see. Better than this morning though."

Dirk nodded. "Good. Do ya think ya could eat somethin'? I don't like seein' ya not eat."

Lloyd sighed. "I'm just not hungry..." He trailed off at the look on his dad's face. "I can try." He picked up the light stew his dad brought up and managed to finish it off, despite not being hungry. He sat back with a sigh and closed his eyes. Who knew it took so much effort to eat?

"You just rest up Lloyd. Ah'll be downstairs fer a while before I head up ta bed myself. You come get me if ya need me." Dirk patted Lloyd's leg under the covers and walked out the room.

Lloyd sighed and pulled out the manual. He read a bit more and when he heard his did snoring across the hall he picked up his swords and silently slipped out of the house via his balcony. He dropped down onto the floor and headed off into the forest.

He pulled them out and began moving slowly. The manual said his body was the same as it was at the beginning of the journey so Lloyd took it slowly and brought his body back up to where it should be. He trained himself hard and by the time the sun was poking above the horizon Lloyd felt rather accomplished.

He slipped back into his room silently, placed his swords back where he usually kept them and lay down in bed under the covers. Just in time as Dirk then poked his head around the door. He softly padded over and rested a hand on Lloyd's forehead. He took a sharp breath and left the room. He returned moments later with a damp cloth.

Lloyd opened his eyes and looked at Dirk. "Dad?"

Dirk smiled "Hush now, Lloyd. You just rest. Yer not well. I'll bring ya in somethin to eat in a bit. You just rest."

Lloyd nodded and Dirk laid the cloth over Lloyd's head before leaving the room. Lloyd took the cloth off his head and scrubbed his face with his blanket. He had broken out in a sweat while training and he was warm from all the activity.

He spent the morning in bed but got bored lying down so he slowly made his way downstairs. Dirk was sitting at his sewing station making something. "Ah, Lloyd. How are ya feelin'?"

Lloyd smiled and nodded. "A lot better than yesterday. My head isn't pounding and it doesn't hurt to look at light."

Dirk nodded. "Good. Are ya hungry?"

Lloyd wasn't but he nodded anyway. "A bit yeah."

Dirk smiled and headed into the kitchen. Lloyd looked at the forge. The coals were still fresh and the ash had been cleaned up. When Dirk came back in with food Lloyd asked, "The forge looks like it hasn't been used today. Don't you have any work to do? You're always tinkering."

Dirk smiled. "Ay, I am. But since ya had that monster headache yesterday I thought I should be quiet until ya recover. Ah've been sewin'. I thought it was about time I made ye some new clothes. Those ones are gettin' a bit old now, even though they still fit ya. Take a look." He lifted the clothes away from the sewing station and placed them on the table for Lloyd to see.

They looked cool. Instead of his trousers being held up by suspenders (Which Lloyd found to actually be an inconvenience at times) they were held by a belt with straps on either side for his hilts to be tied to. The red jacket was replaced by an ankle length red coat. It still had the silver studs and the white ribbons but it was an awesome coat instead of an awesome jacket. Lloyd grinned. "It's cool. Thanks dad."

Dirk smiled at Lloyd. "Glad ya like it. Why don't ya take it upstairs with ya when ya've finished yer food and try it on?"

Lloyd nodded and did just that. It fit perfectly, just like all the clothes Dirk made for him. He glanced over at his swords and attached them. They fit the outfit perfectly. Lloyd then looked over at the manual. It had said something about an equip function? He opened the menu and looked at his equipment. He unequipped his wooden swords and they disappeared from around his waist. He grinned when he opened the inventory he had unlocked yesterday and his swords were in there. He found a number of other items in there already.

According to Destiny they were the items he had in his pockets before he died, minus the one of a kind items, weapons, anything that would kill history or things like that. It was mostly gels, bottles, potions and food. There were a few accessories and armour but nothing to extravagant. He was glad that the food would never go bad while it was in his inventory.

He did have a large sum of gald though. It turned out the gald was in his bag when he died so he now had all the money he and his friends collected. It would have been significantly less but Zelos kept it topped up with his money and Regal took some of his as well. Lloyd and Presea made a little bit of money selling wood carvings whenever they were in town since the two of them would sit by the fire and carve while they were on watch together.

Money had always been a problem for them while they were travelling. Especially when they were considered wanted criminals. Lloyd figured that since he had his inventory he might as well stock up on items to sell and Gald he gets so that when they needed it, they had the money to spend for food and weapons.

Lloyd stayed in his room for a few more hours but got bored again. He put the manual in his inventory along with his swords and went back downstairs. He told his dad he was going out for some fresh air and went out to Noishe's pen. He petted the Arshis for a while.

He then walked out to the forest and trained for a little while. He came back tired but happy. He could move a lot easier now than he could when he woke up yesterday. When Dirk looked worriedly at him he just explained he had been walking around and ran into a wolf pack so he had to run a lot to get away.

He ate some food and went to bed that night feeling much better about things than he had yesterday. If he was going to be back in time he was going

to make the most of it.

* * *

_"Kratie!"_

_"DAMN IT COFFEE BEAN I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"_

_"Aww, you're so mean to me~!"_

_"I'll show you mean!"_

_"Anna! Kratos is being mean to me again!"_

_"Kratos! Leave Yuan alone! He and Botta came all the way here just to see us. Now stop threatening him. I will not have you killing my son's Uncle. And Botta needs his father too. The poor boy is only ten."_

_"...Yes Anna."_

_"U'kle Yuan! Bobo!"_

_"Hello to you too Lloyd. How have you been?"_

_"Me been learnin' how a fight wiv a sword yike daddy! Den me can 'tect mommy too!"_

_"Really, is that so? Sounds like you've been busy. I hope you haven't been giving mommy and daddy too hard a time."_

_"Daddy say ah'm a yittle solder."_

_"Haha, well, he definitely takes after Anna. No way you were ever this cute, Kratos."_

_"Yuan, stop antagonising Kratos, this is why he threatens you. Now, who wants soup?"_

_"Is it tomato?"_

_"No, Kratos. I know you're allergic. Now then, Lloyd, why don't you show your Uncle Yuan and your cousin Botta how you can eat by yourself?"_

* * *

Lloyd opened his eyes and stared up at his ceiling. That dream was so real... he got out of bed and got dressed for the day. He went downstairs and surprised his dad since he was never up this early. It took him about half an hour to convince his dad to let him go to school. He was fine now and wanted to see Colette. He eventually convinced him by saying it was Colette's birthday and he wanted to be there.

Lloyd gathered his things for school and put them in his inventory. We made his way through the forest, avoiding the wolves as he did so, and made it to school in good time.

He actually managed to arrive early. When he walked in the room everyone stared at him. He sighed and walked up to Raine. "Hey, Professor Raine. I'm sorry I wasn't at school the last two days, I was ill."

Raine eyed him critically and sighed. "Very well Lloyd. Just take your seat. Class will be starting soon."

Lloyd nodded and sat in his seat. Genis was on his right and Colette was seated in front of him. They both turned to him and asked if he was alright. "Not really. But today is Colette's birthday so I have to be here."

Colette looked sad. "I'm sorry. You don't have to be here for me. I-"

"Colette. Stop. It's your sixteenth birthday. You're going to receive the oracle today. There is no way I am missing this. I won't leave you. Not for anything. You are one of my most precious people." Lloyd glared at Colette until she smiled, ducked her head and apologised. He sighed and rolled his eyes at Genis who mimicked his movement.

Lloyd barely managed to pay attention in class. It seemed to be ages before the oracle arrived. Was it this long last time? Probably, he was asleep for a while last time. Finally there was a bright flash of light and Lloyd closed his eyes and turned his head. After the light died down Lloyd looked back out the window.

Raine called order quickly. "Everyone, settle down. It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?" Raine dashed across the room to the door.

Colette stood up. "Professor! I'll go with you."

Raine stopped in the doorway. "No Colette. If it is the oracle the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else." Raine turned around and ran out the door.

Everyone immediately started talking. Lloyd looked over at Genis and then walked over to the door. Genis ran up to him. "Lloyd! Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out! Raine will get mad!"

Lloyd turned to Genis. "I'm really curious to find out what really happens to Colette when she receives the oracle. They always talk about the Chosen of Regeneration and the Day of Prophesy but no one tells us what really happens."

Genis frowned. "But my sister said to stay and study by ourselves."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Do you really think anyone is actually going to study right now? Besides, it's research."

Genis fumed. "That's just an excuse!"

Lloyd turned to face Genis fully. "So? An excuse is an excuse. Don't be so stuffy. You're coming too right? Colette, wanna come along too?"

Colette looked around at the mention of her name. "Huh? Um, okay." She stood up and walked over. "So where to?"

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "The temple. That was the oracle. There is nothing else that could make that light. You're directly involved in all this. Aren't you curious?"

Colette tilted her head. "Are you curious about it?"

Lloyd nodded. "Of course."

Colette nodded. "Then I'll be curious about it too."

Lloyd sighed. "Colette, you don't have to be curious just because I am. You can be curious on your own. Anyway, let's get to the temple. Dwarven vow number one, let's all work together for a peaceful world."

Genis sighed. "Not the dwarven vows again, you always use those when you need an excuse."

Lloyd ginned and led the other two out of the building. As they got outside Lloyd stopped. "It's too quiet. Not even the birds... something must have scared them off..."

Genis looked around. "Where did everybody go?"

The three of them looked over when someone called Colette's name. They looked over and Lloyd was relieved to see Frank. Just because nothing happened the first time didn't mean something wouldn't happen the second time. "Frank! Are you alright? What happened?"

"Yes, I'm alright. I'm glad you're all okay. Everyone's hiding. The Desians invaded the village just a short while ago. Thankfully no one was hurt. They passed through the village and headed for the temple."

Genis scowled. "Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression peace-treaty with the Desians!"

Lloyd frowned. "A better question would be 'where is Phaedra?'"

Frank's eyes widened. "Phaedra is at the temple preparing for the ritual."

Lloyd nodded. "Right. Let's go then. The sooner we get there the better."

Genis tilted his head. "But why would the Desians break the non-aggression treaty?"

Lloyd shook his head. "We pose no threat to them in the first place. The treaty wasn't worth the paper it was written on. Now come on. We have to get to the temple." Lloyd walked quickly to the village exit and Genis and Colette followed.

Frank nodded. "You three be careful. I'll wait at the house. You three come back immediately if anything happens."

Lloyd nodded and walked over to the exit. A small message came up on the corner of his vision. '_Colette has joined the party_.' followed by '_Genis has joined the party_.'

As they left the village they encountered a zombie which Lloyd took care of in one hit. A second zombie and a ghost came up and Lloyd took out the zombie with one hit and threw a demon fang at the ghost. Luckily it hit and the ghost vanished.

Colette and Genis stared in awe. Colette clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Wow, Lloyd, that was amazing!"

Lloyd grinned at them. "Well, I do have to fight my way through the Iselia forest just to get to school every day."

Colette nodded. "Oh, right yeah. But still. That was cool. You're really strong Lloyd!"

Lloyd shook his head. "I could be better. Anyway, we have to hurry!" '_Lloyd obtained the title: modest swordsman_' ''_Titles' is now available in the manual_.'

Lloyd promised to look over that later.

The trek to the temple didn't take long, especially with Lloyd taking care of the monsters so quickly. About half way there Colette tripped and fell. Lloyd and Genis both turned and looked at her.

Genis knelt down next to her. "Colette? Are you okay?"

Colette stood up and dusted herself off. "Yes. I'm fine. I'm used to falling."

Lloyd shook his head. "You're such a klutz Colette."

Colette just giggled.

'_Colette obtained the title: Klutz_'

When they got to the temple they looked up the steps at it.

"Whoa. That light really is coming from the temple." Lloyd stared up.

Genis nodded. "Then an oracle is going to be conveyed. Colette's going to be the chosen of Regeneration."

Lloyd and Genis both turned to Colette who was staring up at the light shielding her eyes from the worst of it to see how high up it went.

"It's really, really bright!" she gasped.

Lloyd sweat-dropped and Genis shrugged in exasperation.

Lloyd sighed but grinned at Colette. "Never change, Colette." He turned to look up the stairs. "We should go." He ran up them with Genis and Colette following. When he got to the top he stopped and stared at the men in front of him. "Botta?"

The man turned around. "Should I know you?"

Lloyd chuckled and nodded. "I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. I was three when we last met. I'm Yuan's nephew."

Botta narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, clearly not believing him.

Lloyd sighed. "I used to call you Bobo."

Botta jerked back and his eyes widened. "Lloyd?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yup."

Botta shook his head. "You're alive?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No. Clearly I died. You're talking to a ghost."

Botta tipped his head back and laughed. Lloyd stepped forwards away from Colette and Genis who were looking on in confusion. Botta grabbed Lloyd and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his hair. "It's good to see you, little cousin. I could have sworn you had died."

Lloyd pulled back slightly. "No. I did get thrown head first off a cliff though. So, how's life with the Renegades? Your dad still the same?"

Botta sighed. "For the most part yes, but we all miss your mother. She was an amazing woman, always brought out the best in everyone."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah... I wish I could remember more of her... the two memories I have... one is not good and the other I can't really remember much..."

Botta sighed and hugged Lloyd again. "I understand. So, where have you been all these years?"

Lloyd grinned. "I got adopted by a dwarf! My dad, Dirk. He takes good care of me, and Noishe."

Botta smiled. "Oh, Noishe is still alive? I had though he had died too."

Lloyd nodded. "Nah, he's still kicking. Anyway, enough sentimental stuff. What brings you out here?"

Botta looked back at the temple. "We have come to kill the chosen."

Lloyd winced and stepped back to be closer to Colette and Genis. "Yeah... I can't let you do that. See, The Chosen happens to be one of my best friends so... I'm gonna have to stop you."

Botta narrowed his eyes. "And you realise I cannot allow that?"

Lloyd nodded. "Seems we're on the same page." He drew his swords. "Prepare yourself!" He dashed forwards and slashed at Botta, who jumped back and drew his sword. The other renegades charged forwards and Lloyd quickly took them out. He and Botta fought for a minute, each dodging the others attacks when Botta managed to get a shot in when Lloyd was unable to get his body to move fast enough. Genis and Colette had managed to get around them to Phaedra and were throwing their respective attacks from a distance.

He jumped back and held on arm against his gut where there was a large slash. Just as Botta was about to slam the side of his blade into Lloyd's head to knock him out a purple blur appeared from nowhere and blacked his sword. Botta jumped backwards to avoid the counter strike and stared at the newcomer. "Damn. I didn't think you would show up. I'll retreat for now. Lloyd, it was good to see you again."

Lloyd nodded. "You too Botta. Tell Coffee Bean I said hi."

Botta laughed and nodded. "I will." He turned to Colette and scowled. "You are the chosen?" Colette nodded. "The next time we meet, I will kill you." Botta turned and ran down the steps.

Lloyd called after him. "You know I won't let you do that!"

Botta called something up the steps and Lloyd laughed before he doubled over and dropped his swords. "Ow."

The purple guy knelt down next to Lloyd. "Hold still. First aid."

Lloyd sighed as he felt the wound heal. "Thanks." He looked up into the face of... his father. His eyes widened. "Dad?"

Kratos jerked back. "Lloyd?"

Lloyd scowled and punched Kratos in the face. "Where the HELL have you been?! _Fourteen years_ I've waited for you! FOURTEEN YEARS! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?!"

Kratos gulped and cast a quick first aid at his broken nose. "Lloyd, I-"

"Do you have ANY idea what I went through?! I lost EVERYTHING!" tears started to creep down Lloyd's face but he ignored them on favour of shouting at Kratos. Saying everything he wanted to say before the man died. Before he released Origin's seal and died in his arms. Before Lloyd buried him next to his mother. "You left me all alone in a forest next to a Desian human ranch! I would have died if dad hadn't found me! Where the Hell were you when I needed you?!"

Lloyd took a deep breath to continue yelling but froze when Kratos pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. I tried to find you... I looked... I tried..."

Lloyd sniffed and tentatively wrapped his arms around Kratos. "Not hard enough... we were at the bottom of the cliff... you could have found us..."

Kratos shook his head. "There were too many Desians... by the time I killed the ones that didn't run away and got down to the bottom of the cliff... all I found was one of your shoes... a lot of blood... bits of Desians... there was a wolf pack cleaning up... I thought for sure..."

Lloyd shook his head and buried it in Kratos' shoulder. "A dwarf found me and took me home. He built a house and buried mum next to it. He adopted me..."

Kratos stiffened. "I see..."

Lloyd relaxed into Kratos' arms and started crying. He had never been hugged by the man before. The closest they had come to this was when Lloyd was holding Kratos' lifeless body. Lloyd took a shaky breath, held Kratos tighter and cried harder. He had wanted Kratos to hug him since he found out Kratos was his father. The idiot believed that since Lloyd had Dirk he wouldn't want him around or trying to be a father.

"Da-Daddy!"

...

...

Lloyd looked around the entrance hall of the temple. It had a very different feel to it than the first time he came. The first time he arrived here the temple was exciting. Now... he knew its purpose... he knew about the journey... the temple was very different than before.

He looked over to Colette. Now that he was looking for it he could see how scared she was. He would be scared too, knowing that this was his last day as a free man and that he would soon be marching to his death. But even still, she was acting like nothing was wrong, like everything would be okay. She really was such an amazingly strong person.

Lloyd looked around the room again and nodded towards the middle passage. "Forwards?"

The other three nodded and they set off down the middle passage. They quickly found the way blocked and ended up having to go a different way. Lloyd looked down the two passages and chose the one that he didn't go down the last time he was here. All that was there was a few rooms for the priests to change and bathe in. None of those rooms interested them at that moment so they went the other way.

They found the steps leading down and a few giant spiders lurking at the other end of the hall. Lloyd held his arm out, stopping Kratos from just smashing the web. He looked at the spider silk blocking the hallway and pulled out a spool that was conveniently located in his inventory. He quickly and methodically began collecting the spider silk that wasn't coated in the sticky substance spiders use to trap prey. When the spiders themselves launched at him he killed them quickly, putting their carcases in his inventory. He would harvest the venom later.

Once he had collected all the non-sticky web he instructed Genis to burn the rest of it. Genis looked at him funny. "Why didn't you just let me burn it all in the first place?"

Lloyd tilted his head to one side. "Acromantula silk is really rare and really valuable. The sticky bits are almost impossible to harvest properly and you need special equipment I don't have but the non-sticky silk can be harvested with a simple spool and is used for a lot of things."

Genis and Colette looked at him funny.

Lloyd sighed. "Just because I can't do maths doesn't mean I don't know anything about anything. I know about monsters. I know what parts of them are useful and what parts aren't. As a blacksmith I need to know what I can use to make things with, where to find them and how to get them, how much they're worth and how much I can charge for them."

Kratos nodded. "That may be so but not many people think to use spider web to make things."

Lloyd shook his head. "It's not _spider web_. It's _Acromantula silk_. There is a _difference_. Anyway, let's get going." They encountered more spiders on their way down and each time they were dealt with in the same way. Lloyd didn't bother putting the zombies, the slimes or the two skeletons in his inventory. There was nothing he could harvest from them.

He ended up with a large number of Acromantula in his inventory. As they descended into the lower floor Lloyd inwardly spazed over the golem. He wasn't looking at it properly the first time around but now that he was, he saw it was made of golemite. He walked up to it while the other's where looking over the edge at the sorcerers ring. He was careful not to touch it but it was hard to resist. Golemite was an incredibly rare mineral. It was virtually worthless for anything except crafting golems but the rarity of it made it more valuable.

"Um... Lloyd? What are you doing?"

Lloyd glanced up at Genis who was staring at him like he was insane. "Just admiring the craftsmanship. Although... if whoever built this was rich enough to afford golemite... they could have at least hired a decent crafter. This thing is shoddily built and with a rare and highly valuable material. It's a waste or a rare and valuable material! If they were going to hire such a bad craftsman they could have gone with clay, it would actually have given better results since it is easier to work with so amateurs like the idiot who built this can get better results."

Lloyd noticed the way Kratos blushed lightly and looked to the side for a second. Wait... did his dad make it? Lloyd shook his head and turned back to the golem, which was still just sitting, deactivated. He drew one of his swords and charged an arte. He gave the golem a poke with one foot and when it stood up he stabbed his sword forwards, the blade encased in a torrent of water. "**_Aqua Thrust_**!" he pulled his other sword out and aimed for the week spot he had created. "**_Sword rain_**_!_" he leapt backwards and ducked under the spinning blades of water that flew over his head at Kratos' hastily cast _Aqua edge_.

The golem went down. Lloyd walked over to it and watched it morph into a cube. "Ah, cleaver. A solid form with a shapeshift failsafe. That would explain the shoddy workmanship, they were more focused on the secondary attributes. And it explains the golemite too, it's better for enchanting than clay. Only the more skilled crafters bother with enchanting them usually since it's hard to learn but golem crafting went out of fashion about a thousand years ago so most of the more intricate workings are lost to the ages. This one is tricky, it heals in this form and is indestructible too. It takes no damage. In fact, it heals faster if you hit it. Now... where is it...?"

Lloyd looked the cube over. The golem had been a real pain the last time, it had healed itself while it was in this form and when they had come back up with the sorcerers ring it had caught them by surprise and Genis had been hurt badly. Then they had gone the wrong way up, got trapped and had to pass the bloody thing again. He walked around it and examined it from all sides. Oh, there it was. The manual override. He poked at it for a moment and the golem collapsed into a pile of ore. "Done." He placed the ore into his inventory and grinned. "That takes care of that. Let's go get the sorcerers ring."

The other three nodded dumbly and followed him down. Kratos quickly took the lead when Lloyd stopped partway down the staircase to examine what it was made of. He didn't recognise it and he didn't want to break it so he decided to leave it alone. When they got to the bottom of the staircase Lloyd saw something unusual. There was a runic circle on the floor. ''_Saving' is now available in the manual_.' Lloyd promised to go over that later. He noticed that no one else had noticed the circle and shrugged, moving to catch up with the others. He looked over the sorcerers ring. It was just as cool as last time.

A quick glance at the others had Lloyd thinking. If he changed too much, too fast his friends might not trust him. He would have to make more effort to act like he always did before the journey.

Genis looked impressed. "Is this the sorcerers ring? I've heard about it before. It's a holy artefact of the Church of Martel!"

Kratos nodded. "We should be able to deal with most traps and obstacles with this."

Lloyd grinned. "Wow! Let me try it!"

Colette smiled and nodded. "Okay Lloyd." she clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Genis shrugged with one arm like he usually did when he was exasperated with Lloyd. "You're such a kid."

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at Genis. Kratos rolled his eyes and the four of them made their way back up. When they got to the barrier Lloyd held his arm up and fired the sorcerers ring. It shot a pathetic little ball of fire at the barrier which sizzled away and vanished. Lloyd sweatdropped. "Really? That's it? That was disappointing." he turned to Genis. "Your fireballs are way bigger." He slipped the ring into his inventory without anyone else noticing. It wasn't like they used it all that often. More often than not they forgot they even had it. "That was way too anticlimactic."

Genis blinked. "Wow. You know the word 'anticlimactic'."

Lloyd gave Genis a sarcastic 'really?' look and walked down the hallway. They walked up a flight of stairs and through a door into the altar room.

Kratos looked around, "This appears to be the top floor."

Colette nodded. "Yes. That's the altar."

Lloyd looked at her and realised she was nervous. It made sense that she would be. Lloyd looked down at the altar. "Then that's your Cruxis Crystal?"

Colette smiled at Lloyd. "That's right. They say I was born with that in my hand."

Genis looked up in surprise. "Look at that light!"

Lloyd looked up and had to quickly duck his head and close his eyes. Even still the brightness hurt his eyes. How did Kratos and Remiel deal with this? How could they bare to have such bright lights shone around them? He looked up when the light dimmed and it took all of his self control not to jump up there and kill the bastard. "An angel..." it was hard to keep the contempt out of his voice but somehow he managed.

Kratos nodded. "So it would seem."

Genis looked over at Colette. "So is that Colette's real father?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No. They look completely different. Colette looks a lot like Frank even though she looks so much like her mother. She can't be related to this guy."

The douche nodded. "Indeed. I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgement." Lloyd glanced down as Colette's Cruxis Crystal floated up and hovered in the air, turning and positioning itself before holding still. Remiel the douche floated down to hover behind it. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel who sleeps in the centre of the world."

Genis looked over at Lloyd. "Awaken the Goddess Martel... it's just like the legend Raine told us about." he was way too excited about it.

Colette's Cruxis Crystal started floating towards her. It was moving way too slowly though he supposed if it was a sudden movement then that would be worse. He grabbed Colette's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. The crystal burst in a bright light on Colette's chest. When the light faded, they could all see the crystal grafted onto Colette's skin and a kind of Key Crest surrounding it.

Remiel smiled but Lloyd could see it wasn't a kind smile. It was greedy. "From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of regeneration. We of Cruxis bless this event and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." They all looked over and saw the tower visible in the distance.

Looking out into the distance Lloyd noticed he could see much further than he ever could before. He supposed that was his angel vision. Looking at outdoors hurt, though, so he turned his attention back inside. "So that's the Tower of Salvation."

Genis grinned. "Now the world will be saved!"

Lloyd felt his eye twitch and he gently squeezed Colette's hand again.

Remiel looked down at them. "Colette. The Chosen of Regeneration."

Colette closed her eyes and squeezed Lloyd's hand before letting go and clasping her hands in front of her chest. "I humbly accept this task."

Remiel nodded. "Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock." Lloyd hid a grimace at the thought of Colette going through the angel transformation. He had already gone through a part of it and that was hard enough. "Once you are reborn as an angel this eroded world shall be regenerated."

Colette nodded slightly. "Thank you. I swear on my life, I will regenerate the world."

Lloyd cast Colette a glance. Considering she was going to die anyway... he blinked. No! He was not going to let Colette die!

Remiel nodded. "First, head south to the seal of fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."

Colette nodded. "Yes lord Remiel."

Remiel nodded and flew off out the ceiling. Lloyd shut his eyes and turned his head down at the bright light before looking back up and grinning at Colette.

Genis sighed. "So that was the oracle... I wish Raine could have seen him."

Lloyd nodded. "She'll be sad she missed this."

Genis stepped up to Colette and Lloyd moved over to Kratos. The man looked distracted. "Colette must now go on a long journey to search for those seals."

Lloyd nodded and lent against the window. "Yeah."

Kratos shook his head. "You've received the oracle. Then let us leave now, chosen."

Colette and Genis turned around. Colette nodded. "Oh, right. Come on guys."

They headed out the warp. As they walked Genis sighed. "I can't believe the rumour was false."

Lloyd looked at him. "What rumour?"

"That Colette is the daughter of an angel and is not really related to her current father."

Lloyd frowned. "Even if you're not related by blood, family is family. At least, that's what I think."

Genis ducked his head. "I-I'm sorry."

Lloyd shook his head. "Hey, don't worry about it."

They walked into the main room and spotted Raine looking around the room. "MARVELOUS!"

Lloyd tilted his head. "Professor?"

Raine jumped and turned around. "Oh! What? What are you three doing here? You're supposed to be studying in class!"

Lloyd stepped in front of Genis. "Sorry Professor. That was my fault. I dragged them out here."

Raine scowled and looked furious. "Lloyd..." she growled. She stepped forwards and tried to kick him in the chest.

Lloyd jumped backwards and avoided her foot at the last minute. "Whoa! Professor, easy! I got stabbed recently!"

Raine froze. She then actually looked at Lloyd. Lloyd looked down at himself. While the wound was almost completely healed (He was sure Kratos hadn't healed it to the best of his abilities so as not to blow his cover and hadn't had a chance to heal him again since) his jacket was destroyed along with his shirt beneath it and there was dried blood all over his stomach. Thankfully neither of his suspenders had been cut or his trousers would have been falling down the entire time.

Raine gasped and stepped closer, casting first aid as she did. "What happened?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I'll tell you later. It's a long story and not one I want to have here. What are you doing here anyway?"

She looked him over sceptically. "I have received permission from Phaidra to study the temple for a while. It's not often that ordinary citizens are allowed to enter this place."

Lloyd nodded. "Right... why would you want to look at a stuffy old building?"

Raine scowled. "Lloyd!" She lifted her leg and kicked Lloyd faster than he could react.

Lloyd shouted out as he flew backwards into a wall, pain shot through his stomach and he screamed.

Raine gasped. "Ah! Lloyd!" the four of them dashed forwards and Raine and Kratos both started casting first aids at Lloyd. "Lloyd, I'm sorry! Lloyd, I..."

Lloyd shook his head. "S'okay..." he took a deep breath and sighed when there was no pain at all. He stood up, bracing himself on Kratos and hesitated a moment before standing on his own. "I'm fine. You two are good healers."

Kratos shook his head. "Let's get back to the village."

Lloyd nodded. "See you later, Professor Raine." Raine nodded absentmindedly as she had just spotted a carving on the wall. As the four of them left the building there was the sound of maniacal laughter from within the temple and they all turned around. "Um, Genis?"

The midget mage sighed. "It's best if you pretend you don't hear it."

Lloyd stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay..." they headed down the steps and headed towards the village. On the way there a pair of wolves showed up. "Where did they come from?" Lloyd asked as he slit the throat of the first wolf.

"No idea." Kratos answered, cutting the throat of the second wolf.

Lloyd sealed them both into his inventory and they carried on. Each time they came across monsters they took them out. Lloyd placed almost all of them into his inventory each time. By the time they made it to the village Lloyd was sure they had taken out the entire southern pack, besides a few omega and the pups. He frowned when he realised that the pups and omega's would no longer have anyone to hunt for them and would starve to death since no pack takes in extra omega, though they might take in the pups.

He shook his head and smiled as Colette ran off as soon as they got to the village, Genis running after her. Lloyd chuckled and followed at a more sedate pace, Kratos falling into step beside him. He glanced up at the taller man before looking back down. He cast a sideway glance at the man's hand and sighed quietly before shaking his head.

They got to Colette's house in no time and walked inside. He frowned when he saw the mayor already there. Oh, how he hated that man. Lloyd chose to ignore his existence for now. "Frank. Phaidra, good to see you made it back here okay. I was a kind of worried when we came across all those wolves on the way back just now."

Phaidra smiled at him. "Thank you, Lloyd. And you as well, sir. I'm glad you showed up when you did."

Kratos bowed his head silently. Lloyd chuckled. "That's 'Kratos' for 'You're welcome'."

The mayor looked the man over. "Who are you?"

Kratos looked slightly disdainfully down at the man. "I am Kratos, a mercenary."

Lloyd looked up at Kratos. He knew the man was an agent of Cruxis. Kratos must suspect he knew since he recognised him straight away. He frowned slightly and Kratos gave him a 'we'll talk later' look. Lloyd frowned further but nodded and turned away.

The mayor looked Kratos over. "You any good?"

Lloyd laughed. "Mayor, he's better than all five of the Desian grand cardinals. The only one on Sylvarant who would give him a challenge is the leader of the renegades."

The mayor looked the mercenary up and down another time before nodding. "Very well then. You are to accompany the chosen on her journey."

Kratos nodded. "Very well." He looked sideways at Lloyd and frowned slightly.

Lloyd jerked backwards slightly in shock. "Dad..." he whispered. He closed his eyes and looked down. He agreed so quickly. Without hesitation. "It's fine." He turned and left the house. He walked a little way down the steps and braced himself against the Brunel's fence. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes tightly.

"Lloyd."

He turned and saw Kratos standing in the door frame. Lloyd shook his head. "No, it's fine, dad, really. I understand. You're a mercenary. You have a life. You don't need me butting myself in. It's alright. I-I understand you don't want me. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I'm sorry." He turned and ran, ignoring his name being called from behind him. He ran out of the village, past the guards and Noishe, past the forest that would take him home and kept running straight.

He staggered to a stop and collapsed to his knees about an hour later. He knelt their and cried out. Even Kratos knowing he was his son, and knowing Lloyd knew he was his dad, the man _still_ didn't want him. He would still leave him right away. Maybe this was why he didn't say anything the first time around. He wasn't trying to protect him or anything noble like that. He just _didn't want him_.

Lloyd heard a quiet whine and looked to see Noishe trotting over. He smiled at the Arshis and buried his face in the dog's fur. "At least you like me, Noishe." He chocked slightly. "You're not going to leave me are you? Now that you've found him again? You're not going to go with him are you?"

The giant dog shook his head and blew gently on Lloyd's hair. Lloyd laughed and hugged the beast harder. He sniffled and smiled. "Let's go home, Noshy." He pulled himself onto the dog's back and Noishe walked back towards the village. It took nearly two hours since they were in no rush and Lloyd had run a long distance. Surprisingly Noishe stayed with him and walked up the trail through the forest to Lloyd's house. Lloyd pulled him to a stop as they drew level with the ranch. He thought he heard... Yes he did. "Go back home, Noishe. There's something I need to do."

He slid off the dog and slipped into the bushes, coming closer to the ranch. He spotted Genis failing to sneak through the undergrowth and sighed. "Genis." The boy jerked and spun around. "What are you doing here?" he hissed

Genis looked down. "There is someone I have to tell about the oracle."

Lloyd scowled. "At the ranch?"

Genis nodded. "Yeah."

Lloyd sighed. "Genis, usually I'm all for reckless, idiotic and frankly stupid ideas that could get me hurt, but this is over the line. You are not only putting yourself at risk but everyone in the village. Is this person really worth it?"

"Yes." Genis replied without hesitation.

Lloyd blinked. "Well... okay then. I'll go with you. No way am I letting you go alone."


	4. Death Before Life

Story name: Death Before Life

Genre: Angst/Tragedy

Rating: M

Category: Naruto

* * *

Naruto looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. It was wrapped in a clean, pale pink baby blanket. His lower lip wobbled as he gently ran the back of his finger down what would have been her nose.

"_**Cub**_?" A voice echoed in his mind.

Naruto sobbed quietly. "_What is it, Kurama?_" He thought back. Gently tracing the barely visible lines on the child's cheeks.

"_**Cub... don't... she...**_" The fox didn't know what to say to comfort his host and Naruto didn't want to hear it.

"_Please, Kurama... just let me grieve._" He ignored the fox calling his name again and curled up around the tiny bundle. So small... so delicate... so fragile.

It made him realise just how cruel life was, that someone who hadn't even started their life could die so easily.

He hugged his child to his chest and cried.

* * *

Naruto was four when he was thrown out of the orphanage. By then he already knew everyone hated him. it was hard not to see.

Two weeks later he saw a ninja use a henge. He thought to himself, 'if I could do that then no-one would know who I was.' He tried to copy it.

When he was five a voice in his head called him. He learned about the Kyubi and him being the fox' container. The fox, Kurama, told him all about what happened that night. But most importantly, the fox told him how to use Chakra.

The first thing he learned was the henge. He learned it in a matter of minutes. only difference was that instead of it being an illusion like anyone else's, his were a solid transformation. His chosen disguise was a pretty brunet girl his own age. No one would think he was anything but what he said he was.

He had to steal food to survive since he lived on the streets. That was what led to this situation.

* * *

Naruto had stolen some food from a grocery. He was running down a side street when he was knocked to the ground. Something hit the back of his head and he passed out. When he opened his eyes he was in an apartment somewhere.

"Ah, you're awake."

Naruto shivered and looked at where the voice had come from. The man that was shopping in the store when Naruto ran off with the food. He swallowed hard. "What you gonna do to me?" his voice trembled.

The man grinned. "Well, little miss. I can do one of two things. See, you stole something, so it's only fair if I steel something from you in return. You get to choose, You're life, or you're virginity."

Naruto had no idea what 'virginity' was so he begged for his life. He didn't want to die.

He should have just let the man kill him.

He was five. The man was in his late thirties.

It hurt so much.

Naruto woke up in the hospital two days later. He went back onto the streets and tried to go back to the way it was before but he couldn't drop his henge for some reason. He woke up every night with nightmares. A few weeks later Kurama had some news.

"_**Cub**_?"

"Yeah?"

"_**Um... I think you're pregnant**_."

* * *

It had been four months.

He had been beginning to show.

He knew the babe was going to be a little girl.

He decided to name her Kushina, after Kurama's last host.

He had stolen everything he needed for her. A crib, a blanket, bottles, a pot of formula milk, pacifiers, diapers, clothes and tones of other stuff besides.

And he had moved into an abandoned apartment building. The closest neighbour he had was in the building next door.

That was pointless now.

* * *

Naruto had woken up in the middle of the night with intense stomach pains.

Kurama was apologising for not being able to do anything but Naruto didn't understand until a bit later. He had climbed into the bath to try and relieve the pains.

What he didn't expect was to have a miscarriage.

He had washed his baby down and wrapped her up.

He dropped his henge and lay on the bed, crying.

He had no idea how long he was there for before someone walked in. An ANBU. He looked around the room and then walked into the bedroom and found Naruto.

He sent for the Hokage.

The old man had arrived and scooped Naruto up. He hugged the boy for a while before Naruto was able to tell him what had happened. He wasn't used to being hugged. The only time people ever touched him... bad things.

* * *

Naruto sat in front of the tiny grave. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi were behind him. He smiled and traced the letters.

Usumaki Kushina.

Beloved daughter.

Taken before her time.

He spoke to her for a while, told her about his new team and his new sensei. He told her about everything that had happened that day. He visited her grave every day, before he went home for the night.

He stood up and said goodbye before he walked the few feet to where his team was standing, trying to pretend they weren't eavesdropping. They went off to celebrate becoming a team and the three Genin officially passing the Exam.

They didn't ask.

Naruto didn't tell. Not until much later.

He could still see her. His baby girl, big blue eyes, just like his. Chocolate brown hair reaching her waist. Those faint lines of her cheeks would be as dark as his own, it was a trait of all children born to the jinchuriki of the kyubi. A little pink dress, probably with grass stains on it. Her little smiles, one or two teeth visible, grinning up at him, calling him 'dada'.

A silent tear rolled down his face.

Life was cruel.

Especially to those who had done nothing wrong.


	5. Family Again 1

Story name: Family Again

Genre: Family

Rating: M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry looked at Fawkes. "You can send me back?"

"_**Yes.**_"

Harry nodded. "And Teddy too? Can he come? I can't leave him here. I'm all he has."

This lead to two hours of debate before the phoenix finally gave in. "_**Fine. But he will have to be reborn. Through you.**_" at Harry's nod the phoenix bobbed his head and quickly performed the spell to send Harry and Teddy back in time.

It was disorienting. There was no pain. It was like watching the world swirl past at a dizzying speed. Harry stared at all the colours swirling around him. He felt like he had no body, there was no physical feeling. When the colours started slowing down the physical feeling came back. It started at his head and worked its way down.

Harry landed with a bump inside his new body. His mind was then assaulted with six years of memories. So he had been reborn as his dad's brother. He was six years old. He shook his head to clear it and quietly walked into the bathroom at the end of the hall. He stared at himself in the full length mirror. His shaggy black hair was a bit longer than he usually kept it. His face was the same. Glasses and all. He quickly got washed up and went to get changed for the day.

He found a nice light grey T-shirt and some black trousers. He put those on and headed down to the kitchen. He stood in the shadows of the doorway for a moment staring. That was his six year old dad/twin brother. His (grand) parents. He shook his head and watched them for a moment. Once he got over seeing that he pulled up the memories he recently acquired so as to blend in and stepped out of the shadows just as Dorea turned around with her mouth open. She paused. "Oh, there you are Harry. I was just about to call you again. Hurry up and eat so we can get going."

Harry sat down at the table and the memories of the previous day flitted into the front of his mind. Right, they were going to the park today. He grinned and started eating breakfast. Not fast like his pig of a brother. Harry inwardly grimaced at his brother's table manners or lack thereof.

After breakfast they all put on their shoes and coats and Harry grabbed a hold of Dorea. James grabbed hold of Charlus and the four of them apparated to the park.

Harry looked around in awe. He had never been to a wizard park before. He quickly ran off after James, playing some kind of childish game. When they got to a play structure of some kind Harry spotted the man before James did. He rushed forwards and pushed James out the way just as the man lunged. He grabbed Harry and apparated.

Harry was knocked out when they landed.

When Harry woke up he was naked and shivering in a dingy room. He didn't even have his glasses on. He was lying on some kind of metal table. He sat up and looked around. He grimaced and tugged at the metal band on his ankle. Yeah... that wasn't coming off any time soon. He started when the door opened. He stared at the blurry figure of the man who walked in.

"Well well. Looks like our pretty little prince is awake."

Harry glared at the man. "Who are you?"

The man chuckled. "That is none of your concern. Now stop talking."

Harry glared. "I'm warning you. My dad is the head of the DMLE. Just kidnapping me is bad enough. If you do anything to me, my dad will kill you." Harry's head snapped to one side as the man back handed him.

"I said enough. I know who your dad is. That is what will make this so much better." the man pushed Harry back onto his back and pinned both his hands above his head. Harry struggled and growled at the man but stopped when he put one hand to Harry's throat and gave it a warning squeeze. Harry tried to struggle but the man was over twice his size and nearly five times his age. Harry closed his eyes and reached for his magic only to find it gone.

His eyes opened wide and he glared at the man. "Heh, noticed your magic's gone eh? Yeah, that there seal on your ankle will keep your magic bound. You aint getting out of here any time soon."

Harry glared at the man and tried to lash out but the man pulled him so his legs were hanging over the edge of the table. When the man pulled his trousers down Harry realised what this was. Oh no. No. No. Not that.

Harry renewed his struggles but it was hopeless. Harry gasped and shouted in pain as the man rammed one if his fingers inside Harry's hole. He screamed and shouted, trying to get away from the burning pain of that digit twisting around inside him.

He sobbed and begged and finally the man removed his finger. Harry sobbed in relief only to snap his head back and arch his back at the agony that erupted from his behind. Oh. It felt like he was being torn open. Like he was being ripped to shreds. He felt warm trails of blood make their way up his back since the man was holding both his legs up.

Harry screamed and cried, desperately trying to get away from the pain.

He screamed harder when the man began to move, sliding in and out. The only lubrication was Harry's blood but with how much he was bleeding it really wasn't an issue. The man just slid right out and slammed back in so hard Harry's vision went white for a moment.

Harry writhed and begged the man to stop. Over and over again the man slammed into him, tearing him up inside. Harry sobbed and cried and screamed at the agony he felt. It felt like he was being torn in half.

Hours it went on. Harry's voice was horse from it all and by the end he was just lying there quietly sobbing.

Finally, _finally_, the man spilled his load into Harry and just stood, leaning over him, for a few moments before he gathered himself. He pulled out and tidied himself up a bit before smiling down at Harry. "You will make a fine pet, little prince." He picked Harry up and carried him down a corridor to a cell at the end.

He threw Harry into the cell and walked off after locking the bars again. Harry curled up in pain and whimpered.

"Oh dear. Look at the age of this one. And a boy. That's a surprise."

"Yes. Such a shame. He's so young."

Harry looked over to the corner and saw a group of young women huddled in the corner. Harry curled up tighter and blushed a little. One of the women came over to him and offered him a shirt. It fit Harry more like a dress but at least he was covered.

Harry gave a watery smile and whispered, "Thank you. My name is Harry. What's yours?" Harry tilted his head in that 'I'm completely innocent, adore me' kind of way that only small children seem to be able to do.

The women smiled and introduced themselves. There were four women in the cell with him, making Harry the fifth captive. They all looked out for each other.

They lost track of the passing of time down there. They all got taken out once every other day at least.

It was one day, a few months after they had imprisoned him, that Harry received a rather large shock.

He was pregnant.

He grinned and rubbed his stomach. Teddy. So that is what Fawkes meant when he said that Teddy would be reborn through him.

When his captors found out they tried to kill Teddy but Harry's magic rose up and surrounded him in a bright green bubble. The one man who tried to break the barrier down was thrown into a wall. There was a sick crack and he slumped to the ground with his head at an odd angle. He didn't get up.

Harry was left alone after that. He was used as a toy as usual though. Since male pregnancies were different than female ones it meant that it wouldn't hurt Teddy if those men kept using Harry.

The months passed and Harry got bigger with each passing day. Finally Harry was awoken in the middle of the night by his water's breaking. His whimpering and occasional gasp of pain woke the other women in the cell up.

Luckily one of the women was in midwife training when she was captured. She wasn't qualified but she at least knew what to do. It was a long and painful process, made worse by Harry being only seven years old. Cutting the cord proved difficult since they didn't have a knife but they managed to use a sharp stone to do the job.

Soon enough Harry was sitting up against the back wall of the cell, cradling Teddy as he suckled hungrily.

When the men came down the next day they cleared away all the bloody cloths and afterbirth and agreed to give them larger rations.

Over the years Harry had become kind of a leader to the women. He found out early on that even though the cuff on his ankle stopped him from doing magic it didn't stop his magic healing him. It also didn't stop him healing others. Somehow that aspect of magic wasn't stopped. The seal was probably designed like that so the women down here didn't die so quickly.

Harry healed the women up as best he could but there was only so much he could do with his magic bound and no actual knowledge of the healing artes.

They all made sure those men didn't even think about hurting Teddy. They all doted on the adorable little boy. It shocked them all when he turned out to be a Metamorphmagus. Harry reasoned that since his mother was a black it was quite possible that Teddy got the gene from there. The blacks often had a Metamorphmagus popping up every few generations. (especially in the halfbloods)

It was one day, about three years after Harry had been taken captive that everything changed.

It was on one of the days when no one had been taken up and none of the women were injured too badly. There was the sound of explosions coming from upstairs. Harry surged to his feet. He smoothed down his grubby grey gown and brushed his floor length black hair out of his eyes. He used a bit from either side to tie the rest of it back loosely. From the corner of his eyes he watched his women doing the same. There was a power in being presentable. He bent down and brushed Teddy's currently red hair aside and smoothed his clothes.

They all waited in anxious anticipation as the sounds of conflict drifted down the stairs. Harry passed the time by braiding Elsa's hair. The other women took the queue and they ended up in a loose circle, all braiding each other's hair. Harry's was by far the longest. He had been here the longest. It reached the floor now, and that was with it being knotted up, tangled and full of filth from being down here however many years.

Harry knew he must be about eight or nine years old by now. He was by far the youngest member of the group (not including Teddy). The next youngest of the group was Elsa who was twenty one. The oldest was Diana who was in her late forties. She looked good despite her age. She didn't look much above thirty. Harry had also been here the longest. The four women who had been in the cell with Harry had been taken out one day and one by one, never brought back.

Harry had soon figured out that the women didn't come back when they stopped fighting back, when they stopped being 'fun' for the men. Once he realised that he tried his best to not let the women brake. Thanks to his effort only five women in the past two years had not returned.

Soon enough everyone's hair had been tied back somehow and they all stood still, watching and waiting, listening to the sounds of conflict from upstairs. Harry tensed as the sounds of conflict stopped. After a few minutes of tense waiting the shadows from the stairs started to shift. Harry stood front and centre in the cell, Teddy balanced on his hip, his woman lined up behind him on either side. Eight women were on one side and seven on the other. As the people making the shadows approached they lit torches. Harry relaxed slightly. If it was the men who ran this place they would not have bothered.

Harry sighed silently when he spied the familiar Auror robes. The men seemed to take far too long to get to them. Probably checking each room as they went past. Harry knew one of the rooms contained all the items each of them arrived with. The room was never emptied so all the items that anyone who arrived had were in there. When the Aurors finally arrived at their cell, which was the last thing along this corridor, Harry stood tall and stared evenly into the eyes of the two men before him. Well, as tall as a half starved eight year old _can_ stand.

His killing curse green eyes pierced the darkness. "Welcome to the Dungeon, Aurors. You are here to assist us I assume?" Assist. Not rescue.

The two men looked at each other and nodded at Harry. One of them made quick work of the door. Harry calmly stepped forwards and his woman fell into step behind him with ease. They stopped outside the doors with their belongings and the Aurors collected everything from the room. It would be sorted and handed back out later. Right now Harry was more concerned with getting his women to St Mungo's. They did each take their wand though.

When they exited the dungeon they blinked quickly at the change in light but adjusted quickly, as they always did between the dark cell and the bright room.

They looked around the room and saw more Aurors. Some were standing around, some were dragging men out the building to the edge of the wards so they could be taken back to the ministry.

Harry held himself straighter and turned to the man next to him. "What is the date?"

The man looked at him. "Twentieth of august, nineteen sixty nine."

Harry hummed and quickly did the maths. "So, I'm nine. More time has passed than I thought... Thank you for your assistance, sirs. We would not have been able to escape completely if it was not for you. If you would not mind escorting us to St Mungo's, that we might get some medical treatment, that would be appreciated, also if you could find our families that would also be welcome."

The Aurors just nodded dumbly. They were clearly new recruits, first time on the field. Harry turned to his girls. "Come along ladies." Harry walked out the building with his women following him, three by three, back straight, shoulders out and head held high. The Aurors all stopped and starred at them as they went passed. Harry smirked. There was power in being presentable.

There was nothing like walking out of a dungeon in rags barely covering your frame, dirt covering every inch of your skin, far too thin to be healthy, but still looking like you could wrestle a mountain troll and win.

They were survivors, not victims. They were strong, not broken. They had been through hell and come out with their head held high, saying 'you will not break me!'

Yes, there was power in being presentable. None of these people would be treating his women like they were broken and needing to be shut in a mental ward until further notice.

There was the flash of a camera and Harry turned his head to see a reporter talking to an Auror. When she caught Harry watching she grinned and waved. Harry inclined his head towards her and her camera man took another picture.

As each of the Aurors handed them portkeys Harry allowed a little bit of concern to pass his features. "Is it safe for us, in our current state?" one of the Aurors looked startled and started babbling something until a senior officer came over.

"It is dangerous for someone who is injured to travel by a regular portkey but these are healers ones. The charm is specifically designed to allow transfer of injured people to the hospital. You will all be fine, I promise."

Harry nodded and saw his women relax slightly before straightening again. So they had been worried too. When the portkeys activated it was very different than whenever Harry had taken one before. It was almost like he was encased in a huge bubble while the rest of the world span around him. He was very grateful the landing was so smooth.

He immediately took charge again when he assured himself that all his girls had arrived safely. "Right. I need some showers for me and my girls."

"Ma'am, it would be in your best interests to let us see to you."

Harry lifted his hand. "We will consent to your healing only after we are clean. This is for both our sakes as well as the integrity of the hospital. If we are clean we are less likely to cause some kind of infection. We would also feel more comfortable letting you assess us once we have cleaned the layers of filth from our skin."

The healer looked fussed for a second before a medi-witch huffed and rolled her eyes. "If you would all follow me, I will show you where you can get cleaned."

Harry inclined his head. "Thank you." they walked down a few hallways and the medi-witch opened a door. "Through here is a group shower. We don't use it often but sometimes we get a group who come in needing a good cleaning, like an accident in a potions lab of something. I will have the elves send in some gowns for you all. I assume you are all female?"

Harry shook his head. "I am male, as is my son, my girls are all women."

The medi-witch looked taken aback for a second before she recovered. "Alright then. I will have the appropriate clothing sent up. I will be back in a few minutes and will escort you to the ward when you are done. Take your time." she nodded her head to them and walked away, back down the corridor they had come from.

Harry led his group into the showers. There was only six on the wall at one end. A quick peek in the doors at the side revealed three toilets and four more showers.

They doubled up in the showers to wash each other's hair and places they couldn't reach. Harry needed the most help with his hair. Once clean and dried they all took a moment to look at themselves the huge floor to ceiling mirror that covered one wall. They were all far too thin to be healthy but now that they were clean they looked more whole than before.

With their hair clean and brushed it was much longer than before. Harry was rather shocked to see his hair now trailed a good meter and a half along the floor behind him. He rummaged through the bag of hair accessories they had sent down. It was mostly bands and ribbons. He shrugged and just braded it up, tying the end off with a simple black band. The other women did similar.

When they stepped out of the room the medi-witch was waiting for them. "Are you all ready? Good. Follow me then, I will take you to your ward."

The walk was a little longer than before and they had to go up some stairs since their group was too large to fit in the elevator. When they got to the ward Harry immediately took charge again. He turned to the Matron of the ward. "Claire is the most injured. Some of her wounds are infected." He directed Claire over to a bed and the matron waved one of the healers over to her. The two of them proceeded like this until each of Harry's women was on a bed and being tended by a healer.

Harry then turned his attention to the Auror who saw standing to one side. "Get some parchment." The man pulled a muggle notepad and pen out of his pocket. Harry smirked and listed each of his women's names, ages, marital status and next of kin. The Auror promised to find their families and left to go and do exactly that.

Harry nodded and turned to the matron. "I suppose there is nothing else I can do to delay my own healing?"

She shook her head and led Harry over to a bed. A paediatric healer was looking Teddy over in the bed next to him and he kept reassuring his boy that everything was fine. He refused to let the matron do anything to him without first telling him what it was she was about to do.

A few minutes in Harry leapt off the bed and stormed over to the room opposite, where half his girls were since they could not fit enough beds in one room. "Hey. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The healer turned around and sneered down hat Harry. "Look. Little girl, this doesn't concern you. Just let me do my job."

The matron came up behind Harry. "Jake, what is going on here?"

Jake sighed. "This stupid woman won't let me heal her."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Did it not occur to you that we have been through hell and back? We don't trust easily. All we ask it that you explain what you are doing beforehand. Merlea is well within her rights to ask you to explain what you are doing and refuse treatment if you don't. I can certainly understand her not trusting you. After what we've been through..." Harry trailed off and shrugged and turned to the Matron.

The matron nodded. "Jake. Go home. Alicia? Come here and take over for Jake."

When the young lady came over and took over Harry allowed the matron to lead him back over to his bed and finish healing him. When he was healed he walked between the beds with Teddy, offering comfort to his girls. For some reason, his magic was able to heal him much better than anyone else's. The men who ran the place had upped the power on his suppressor so many times that Harry had lost count.

As he walked between the beds his head snapped up at a familiar voice. He turned around and stared at his mother, Dorea Potter, standing talking to the Matron. He handed Teddy to Robyn and carefully walked over and looked up at her through his lashes. "Mama?" he whispered. Dorea turned around and looked at Harry. Harry asked again, louder this time. "Mama?"

Dorea stared at Harry in a mixture of joy, guilt, apprehension and worry. "Harry?" she breathed.

Harry nodded and barely held back a sob. "Mama." He took a few steps forwards and engulfed his mother in a huge hug. He felt her hug him back and he broke down and cried into her chest.

He felt himself being lead away and sat down somewhere but he really didn't care at the moment. It was ages before Harry pulled away and stared up at his mother. "Mama... I'm sorry..."

Dorea shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, baby. It wasn't your fault."

Harry laughed sadly. "I meant about crying all over you. I know it wasn't my fault I got kidnapped." He paused for a second before looking down. "How are daddy and James?"

Dorea sighed and wrapped her arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him into her side. "You father has been turning Britain upside down looking for you. He's been working non-stop since... Jamie... James blames himself. He was the one who wanted to go to the park. He also knows that you pushed him out the way. He blames himself."

Harry shook his head. "Not his fault." He sat in silence for a few moments before to looking up at Dorea. "Can you get them?"

Dorea smiled sadly down at him. "Do you want me to go or would you prefer I send someone else?"

Harry looked over at the ward. He saw his women being healed. Some were looking this way, some were trying not to. Harry sighed. "You go. My girls need me right now." He slipped of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "You'll be back soon right?"

Dorea nodded. "Yes. I'll be back soon." She kissed Harry's head and quickly made her way out of the ward.

Harry sighed and started making his way through the ward again, picking up Teddy as he went. Within a few minutes other people started showing up on the ward. As they each spotted their sister/wife/mother/daughter they made their way over. Soon the ward was filled with the sounds of his girls crying and hugging their families. He stopped by each of them and greeted them.

As Harry was walking around, he heard snatches of conversation. "-The one who kept us all together." "-Thanks to him that we're alive." "-Healed us-" "-Saved all our lives." "-Braver than anyone I've ever met."

He blushed when the families started thanking him for what he did. He stopped by Diana, who was still waiting. "Why are they thanking me, Die?"

Diana smiled. "Harry. You may not realise it, but while we were in there, you were the only thing keeping us together. You taught us to be strong. Do you remember? You were the one who figured out that they would have killed us once we were broken. You healed our wounds and kept us strong. Not physically, but emotionally. We stayed strong so they didn't kill us and take other women to replace us."

Harry blushed and nodded. "Someone needed to take charge."

Diana nodded. "Yes, but you took that a step further. You suffered for us. When Claire got sick you cut your own hand so you could heal her better and refused to let those men take her out until she was better. You are the glue that held us all together. You did more for us at your own expense than any of us could have hoped to have done. You saved all our lives."

Harry blushed and looked down. Well... when it was put like that... Harry blushed harder. He looked up when three people appeared in the doorway. His face broke into a huge grin. "Daddy! Jamie!" He jumped down off the bed and walked over, Teddy toddling along behind him. He pulled them both into a huge hug. "Missed you."

Charlus took a deep shuddering breath and knelt down and held Harry at arm's length, looking him up and down. "Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry." He pulled Harry into a hug and Harry happily hugged him back.

Harry then pulled away. "Daddy, Jamie, Mama! Meet my son, Theodore!" He nudged Teddy in front of his and knelt down. "Teddy, this is your Nana, grandpa and Uncle James."

Teddy looked up at them and grinned. "'Lo. Name is Teddy. Me is... dis many." He held up four fingers and Harry gently pushed two down. "Yeah, dis many!" he turned back to Harry. "Mommy, why they not here before? Why we here? We goin home?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Yes, Teddy. We're gonna go home soon. This is a hospital, the Healers just need to heal us a little bit more and then we can go home. Okay?"

Teddy nodded. "Yeah. Me wanna see home. Sound nice."

Harry nodded. "It is. You're gonna love it there. No more dark and damp and all the food you can eat."

Teddy grinned and clapped his hands. "Yeah!"

Charlus stared at Teddy in equal parts shock, horror, guilt, pride, and regret. "Oh, Harry..." he coughed. "Um... it's very nice to meet you Teddy. I look forward to you... coming to live with us..."

Harry giggled and ruffled Teddy's hair. "Oh! Come and meet Diana!" he dragged Charlus to his feet and pulled him over to Diana. "Diana! This is my daddy, my mama and my twin brother James."

Diana smiled. "Hello there. My name is Diana. I'm the oldest of Harry's girls," she laughed, "Although it has been quite some time since anyone called me a girl." She smiled up at Charlus. "Harry spoke very highly of you. He knew you would be looking for him. It gave all of us hope, which is something we all needed down there. He's a good lad. Held us together. Kept us strong. I feel privileged to have met him and gotten the chance to know him so well, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Charlus nodded. "Indeed. Thank you, for looking out for him."

Diana smiled and laughed. "Oh, dear. It was quite the other way around. Harry was the one looking out for us." She reached down and scratched at an itch on her ankle. It was an innocent movement but it drew Harry's attention to the gold band innocently sitting there.

"Oh! The suppressors! I forgot." He turned to Charlus. "Daddy. We need someone to remove these suppression seals from us. They're binding our magic. We will all heal a lot faster with them off."

Charlus nodded. "I can have one of my men here today send a message... I don't know how long it will be until we get someone here but it might be a few hours... maybe tomorrow..."

Harry nodded. "That's fine. So long as it gets done."

Charlus looked at Harry. "You are acting very differently that you were just a moment ago."

Harry tilted his head. "What do you mean daddy?"

Charlus frowned. "One minute you're acting like a child and the next you're acting like a man."

Harry sighed. "I went through a lot down there... I had to grow up fast... it was hard to keep hold of anything... my innocence being one of them... I still call you daddy 'cus you're my daddy but that doesn't mean I haven't grown up." Charlus looked so sad at that. "Please daddy. Don't look so sad. It wasn't your fault. Besides, we're out now so Teddy and I can come home and we can be a family again."

Charlus sighed. "Alright... for you Harry..."

Harry frowned and tilted his head to one side. He passed Teddy to Dorea and led Charlus away by the hand. "Daddy... what's wrong?"

Charlus sighed. "Harry... you don't have to keep the boy if you don't want to."

Harry gasped and stared at his father is shock. "No! I'm keeping my baby!" he hissed, careful not to let his voice drift over to anyone else.

Charlus frowned. "So... seeing him won't remind you of what happened?"

Harry sighed. "Daddy... I will never be able to forget, whether I have Teddy or not. But I'm his mother. I can't leave him. I won't. Not for anything."

Charlus stared at Harry for a long while. "You really have grown up haven't you?"

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't want to but someone had to be in charge and the women I was with at first all... well they just didn't come back one day. I had been there the longest out of all of us here today. I was the one who had to take charge, to keep them together so they wouldn't get killed. I just did what I had to. If that meant becoming a man at nine..." he shrugged. "Then so be it."

Charlus sighed. "Will you ever be my little boy again?"

Harry sighed and hugged his dad. "You will always be my daddy. I'll always be your boy. I need you for a lot of things. Getting used to... to not being a prisoner... it's gonna take a lot of work. I'm gonna need a lot of help. Especially with Teddy. That life... it's all he knows... hopefully he won't remember much of it as he gets older... I will have to try really hard to make sure he doesn't turn out thinking things like this are okay... I will need help. More than just from family and friends but from you, my daddy. I need you. Really bad."

Charlus sighed and smiled. "It's going to be hard for all of us..."

Harry nodded and the two of them stood in silence for a moment before Harry looked down at the little tugging on his arm. "Mommy... gotta go pee..."

Harry smiled. "Alright Teddy-bear." Harry picked Teddy up and paused for a minute. "Why don't you take him?" he smiled at his dad who smiled back and gently took Teddy from Harry. Harry smiled and watched them leave the room.

Harry walked back over and sat next to James. Dora and Diana were nattering on about something. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to look at James. "Women. Talk for hours don't they?"

James nodded.

Harry tilted his head to one side. "Something the matter, James?"

James muttered something.

"What?"

James snapped his head up. "Why don't you hate me?! You should hate me! I got you taken! It's my fault! You should hate me! Why-" James was cut off as his head snapped to one side.

Harry lowered his hand and pulled James into a hug. "It wasn't your fault. I could never hate you. You're my brother. My twin. The other half of my soul. I love you James. I could never hate you. What happened was not your fault. I don't want you blaming yourself."

Harry held James tighter and the boy lost it, bawling into Harry's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while. Harry sighed and buried his face into his brother's shoulder. The next few years were going to be pretty hard for all of them, he and Teddy most of all.


	6. Family Again 2

Story name: Family Again, chapter 2

Genre: Family

Rating: M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry grinned at the letter in his hands. His Hogwarts acceptance letter. He looked up at James and Sirius as they danced around the room waving their own letters. Teddy was sitting on the couch next to him, sipping a banana milkshake. Dorea and Charlus were sitting and smiling indulgently at the two boys.

Sirius had come to stay for the week and their acceptance letters had arrived. Harry had thought they would not be due for another few weeks yet.

He sighed silently. He wished he had been that innocent. He had never had that childhood innocence and it seemed that even in this life he couldn't.

Diana walked into the room and set the tray down on the table. It had turned out that her husband had died in the same incident that had resulted in her being taken and the ministry had repossessed everything she owned, thinking she was dead. She had gotten the money back but there were people living in her house now. The Potters had offered to let her move in with them and she had graciously accepted.

Teddy had completely forgotten anything about the dungeon, helped a little by some careful obliviates by an experienced mind healer. It helped that a child's long term memory didn't kick in until they were three.

Harry stretched his legs out and read through the letter. It was more or less the same as the one he had received the first time around. He grinned up at his mother. "So, how long are you going to make them wait until we go shopping?" he leaned over and whispered. "I heard a rumour a new broom is being released next week, we might want to go before then to get everything done so those two can nag you to take them to look at it then and we won't have to worry about getting everything on time."

Dorea and Charlus smiled down at Harry. "Good idea." Charlus whispered back. He then stood up. "Alright then boys, quick lunch and then we go to Diagon!"

James and Sirius cheered and dashed over to grab some sandwiches off the table. Sirius hummed. "Thanks Aunty Diana." The two boys had taken to calling her that. Harry had grinned and quickly joined in. Diana didn't mind and was quite delighted to be welcomed into the family so easily. Teddy called her granny of course.

Lunch was a battle. The grownups had to keep reminding James, Sirius and Teddy not to inhale their food. Harry thanked the elves and they all flooed to Diagon. Even after all these years Charlus and James refused to let Harry move more than a few feet away from them in public. Dorea and Diana stuck close to Sirius.

They had decided that after a quick stop to Gringotts they would get wands for James and Sirius. They would have to speak to Olivander about what Harry could use though.

_~~*** Flashback-no-jutsu! (Wait wrong story.) ***~~_

Harry took a deep breath and watched as Merlea had her suppressor removed. Yet again there was a large wave of magic that flooded the room. Harry let his breath out, as did everyone else in the room. They had learned after the first time it was easier if they held their breath.

Harry took a deep breath, steadied himself, passed Teddy to his mum and stepped forwards, he was the only one left to have his suppressor removed. The men hadn't bothered with Teddy.

He lay down on the bed and the man waved his wand over the suppressor. He felt his magic react right away but clamped it down. He didn't want it interfering with the ritual. As the ritual dragged on it became harder and harder to keep his magic back. Just before the suppressor could be removed Harry lost his grip and his magic flew out of control. It flooded half the hospital, healing all the injures, fixing everything that had been broken, refilling empty cups, cleaning what was dirty and generally trying it's damn hardest to find some way to do something.

Harry tipped his head back and grit his teeth. Oh god it hurt. Fuckety fuck.

There was a hasty incantation and suddenly his magic was bound back up. He lay panting on the bed before he cracked his eyes open and peeked at the man. He was rummaging in his bag. "Mr Potter. It would seem your magic is too powerful. I need to attach a suppressor to your magic but one like this is dangerous." He pulled up a simple silver band with a wide section on one side. It had a dark rectangle running around it and a percentage sign next to it. "This is a control bracelet. They are quite common amongst the unspeakables. As I remove the bind on your ankle I will increase the bind on this one so you magic stays the same throughout. Once that is done we can use this one to regulate your magic."

Harry tilted his head. "Why is my magic too strong?"

The man smiled. "Well, since it was bound at such a young age it grew stronger behind the bind. As you had more and more need for it to heal injuries and with your pregnancy it became even stronger. That is why they had to increase the power."

Harry nodded. "How will we be using that to control my power?"

The man smiled. "Well, we would slowly release the bind over the next few years, it would allow you to get used to your magic. The only problem with that is that since you are a child your magic is still growing I have a feeling that by the time you are eleven you are only going to be able to use twenty percent of your magic safely."

Harry nodded. "As long as I can control the bind I don't mind. Do what you have to. You are the expert."

The man nodded and the process of switching the binds was simple though it took twice as long as removing one. Harry was keyed into the control and set it to five percent. He was just about able to control it then.

~~*** _end-flashback-no-jutsu _***~~

Since he had so much magic he had been learning to control it by wandless spells. He had already gone through a large portion of the books in the Potter library. He kept having to go over the spells again and again as he let the bind slip. Surprisingly he was able to control fifty percent of his magic but that was only because of his immense control. If he had been a real eleven year old he was sure the specialist's predictions would have rung true. As it was Harry was glad he was so much older than he was physically.

The major setback for Harry's magic though, was that he had too much. He wouldn't be able to use a wand without overloading it and making it explode.

They walked up the steps to Gringotts and went down in the cart to the Potter vault. As Charlus and Dorea went in to get the money out James and Sirius snuck over to the vault next to theirs. Diana was up at the top of the bank with Teddy. Harry looked over at James and Sirius before sighing and walking over. No doubt they were about to get into trouble. "What ya doin~"

"Oh god!" "Oh Gees!"

Harry grinned and James glared at him. "Don't scare me like that Harry. We're looking at this vault. I heard it's haunted."

Harry looked up at the inscription on the top of one of the doors. The inscription made no sense until Harry read it backwards, then he figured out it was in Parseltongue and when translated into English read, 'only those of Slytherin mind and Gryffindor nerve, with a Hufflepuff's heart and a Ravenclaw's wisdom may enter here' it rhymed in Parseltongue though.

The inscription on the other door, when treated in the same manor read, 'be loyal, be wise, be smart, be brave, only when the four unite can the good become the great.' again, i rhymed in Parseltongue.

It took Harry several moments to realise he was reading an inscription in Parseltongue. How did that happen? He looked at James and Sirius as they poked at the lock.

He facepalmed when they were sucked in.

He turned to the goblin who was watching. "Any chance you can get them out?"

The goblin shook his head. "Nope. That vault is sealed, even from goblin magic. It's been closed since the time of the founders. It has never been opened."

Harry huffed and turned back to the door. "_I don't suppose you are going to tell me how to get it are you?_"

The door rumbled and another inscription appeared on the door. Harry read it, sighed and poked the lock. He was sucked inside and looked at the bright white light around him. He felt something shuffling through his mind, sorting his memories and personality. Finally it stopped and he felt himself pass through the matter of the door and appear inside the vault.

He clicked his fingers and a sourceless light illuminated the room. He found Sirius and James quickly enough, stuck in a frozen state in a cell like structure next to the door. He grimaced at the massive pile of skeletons on the floor and tapped the bars. James and Sirius fell to the ground and looked around. They screamed like little girls when they realised they were sitting on a pile of dead people.

Harry sighed and waved his hand, vanishing the skeletons. He opened the door to the cage and James and Sirius toppled out. He opened the main door to the vault and the two of them rushed out to be hugged immediately by Charlus and Dorea. Harry walked over to the two of them. "And what have we learned from this?"

They both looked at each other before turning to Harry. "Don't mess with the vaults in Gringotts."

Harry nodded. "Exactly."

The goblin looked at Harry in awe. "How did you do that? No one has been able to claim that vault in centuries. No one has even been able to read the inscription on the doors."

Harry shut the doors and looked at the inscription. "It's backwards. And Parseltongue. Is reads, only those of Slytherin mind and Gryffindor nerve, with a Hufflepuff's heart and a Ravenclaw's wisdom may enter here' and 'be loyal, be wise, be smart, be brave, only when the four unite can the good become the great.' The new inscription simply spells, 'poke the lock.' In Parseltongue."

The door glowed for a second before the inscription faded to be replaced by the Potter family crest in the centre of a shield with a lion, badger, raven and snake at each of the four corners, a crown at the top and a wand over a crescent moon at the bottom. The Potter crest itself was a shield with a wand crossing a sword, a five point star near the top and a hand holding one of each of the four elements in each corner.

Harry smiled. He guessed that was his new crest. A glance at the goblin and his father confirmed this. Great. Nothing could be normal about him could it? Harry sighed. "Why can't I be normal?"

The goblin huffed a gruff laugh. "Normal is over rated."

Harry chuckled. He resolved to come back and check out the vault later, as they had shopping to do and he didn't want to have to do it when all the Muggleborns and lazy purebloods did. Not many families did the school shopping as soon as the lists arrived.


	7. Headmaster Potter

Story name: Headmaster Potter

Genre:

Rating: K+/T (I think.)

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry settled in his bed in the Gryffindor dorm room. He was warm, full from the feast and really tired. He yawned and closed his eyes, easily slipping to sleep.

"Hello, my little one."

Harry snapped his eyes open and looked at the lady in front of him. She looked to be somewhere in her late fifties but looked good for her age. "Who are you?"

The lady smiled gently down at him and reached over to ruffle his hair. "I am the human embodiment of Hogwarts, little one. I am the castle you now live in."

Harry blinked up at her in awe. "Why are you speaking to me?" he didn't think he was worth speaking to.

She smiled. "I have chosen you as Dumbledore's successor."

Harry's eyes popped out of his head. "What?"

The lady sat down on the edge of the bed. "You see, when I was newly built, the headmasters and headmistresses were the four founders. I was too young at the time, but when they all passed on they had chosen a new head. When he retired he had chosen his successor. Throughout time each head has selected their deputy and the deputy became the head when the previous one retired. That system has worked until now but the magical world is in dire need of change. I objected to Dumbledore being elected as Head because he was not what this castle needed."

Harry tipped his head. "What do you mean? Is he evil?"

"No, little one. He is not evil. He just can't see anything beyond his plans. He sees the world as he wants too. He cannot change what needs to be done. That is why I have chosen you. I have been looking since Albus was announced head for someone to take his place. The Sorting Hat and I are of the same mind. While he looks at the students I decide whether or not they are what this world needs. _You_ are exactly what the school needs."

Harry looked down. "So... what do I do?"

Hogwarts smiled. "Simply learn and grow. I will teach you at night what you need to know about Hogwarts history, the rules and rites, everything you need to know. I will guide you during the day so you will never get lost. I will help you in any way I can, but do not tell anyone about this. There are people who would use you for their own gain."

Harry nodded. "So... when Dumbledore retires, I'll be the headmaster?"

"Exactly. Now, our first lesson, I will tell you about my layout and how to get to your classes so you won't get lost."

Harry nodded and paid close attention as his new teacher mapped out the school for him. They spoke all night but in the morning when he got out of bed he felt like he had had the best night sleep of his life. He woke up Ron and the other boys (He ended up having to push Ron out of bed to wake him up) and they all got ready for the day. They went downstairs and waited for the girls. Two of them came down not long after and they told them the third, Hermione, had already left.

Harry led them on a direct route to the great hall instead of the around about walk they did to get to the dorm last night. No one questioned how he knew, he was Harry Potter, he was supposed to know everything.

They sat down at the table and joined Hermione. Harry looked around the group. "So, I know all our names were called out at the feast but why don't we introduce ourselves properly? Well be spending the next seven years living together after all."

The others nodded hesitantly. One of the boys spoke up. "Why don't you start then, not that we don't all know who you are?"

Harry nodded. "Okay, my name is Harry Potter. Forget everything you've read about me because it's not true. I've read those books." He shook his head. "I live in suburban Surry with my muggle Aunt, Uncle and cousin, not a flying castle slaying dragons and fighting evil." He sighed. "I'm just a slightly abnormal eleven year old who didn't know about the magical world until I got my Hogwarts letter."

Ron nodded, although he looked a little put out. "I'm Ron Weasley. I'm a pure-blood. I live in St. Catchpole with my mum, dad, younger sister and three of my older brothers. The oldest two, Bill and Charlie have already moved out. Fred and George are over there and Percy is the snobby prefect over there. My sister Ginny will start next year." He pointed his brothers out.

The bushy haired girl, Hermione, spoke up next. "My name is Hermione Granger. I'm a muggle-born. I live with my parents, they're both dentists." Harry gave her a quick look and she closed her mouth, getting his non-verbal queue.

Neville spoke up next. "I'm Neville Longbottom. I'm a pure-blood. I um… I live with my Gran and my great uncle Algie."

One of the other two girls spoke up then. "I'm Lavender Brown. I'm a pure-blood. I live with my mum and dad. I don't know where our house is in the country since its unplotable but the area is very nice." She nodded to professor McGonagall as she handed them all their timetables.

The other girl twirled a bit of her hair in a finger. "My name is Parvati Patil. I am a half-blood. My father comes from an Indian pure-blood family but my mother is a British muggle-born. I live with my parents and my twin sister, Padma. We live in oxford."

One of the remaining boys spoke next. "I'm Dean Thomas. I live with my mum, step-dad, half-sister and two half-brothers. I think I'm muggle-born but I could be a half-blood. My dad never said anything to mum and I haven't seen him since I was little."

The other boy clapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry mate." He looked back at the group. "I'm Seamus Finnegan. I'm a half-blood. Just me, mam and da. Me dad's a muggle, mam's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out. We live in northern Ireland."

Harry nodded. "I could tell by the accent. So what's everyone looking forward to at school? And Hermione, please don't say 'everything'."

They spent the rest of breakfast talking about themselves and getting to know one another. They talked about the subjects and which ones looked easy, which ones looked harder, which ones they thought they would be good in or interested in, that kind of thing. As soon as harry said he was looking forward to potions Ron shook his head.

"You won't like potions, mate. The teacher's a right git! He hates everyone, especially Gryffindors. Fred and George say he makes students drink their potion if they don't do it right."

Harry frowned at him. "Are these the same brothers who told you we would have to wrestle a troll for the sorting? I don't think he would be quite that bad. Anyway, we don't have potions until Friday. We should head off soon, we have transfiguration first today and Professor McGonagall is the teacher and our head of house. We don't want to upset her of all teachers."

The others nodded and they all finished breakfast and went back to the dorms to get their schoolbags and head down to the transfiguration classroom. Harry asked a passing ghost for directions. They all arrived early enough and Harry sat at the front with Hermione since none of the other's seemed to want to. They all got their books out and sat, procrastinating until class started.

Dean blushed slightly when Lavender looked over his shoulder and complemented his drawing of an owl. Once class started Harry immediately noticed Hermione was a huge know-it-all. He would have to talk to her about that. She was a bit domineering and bossy while she tried to tell Harry he was doing it wrong despite the fact that she hadn't done it yet.

Harry rolled his eyes and blinked when Hogwarts spoke to him, '_visualise, you just have to picture a needle. You don't have to picture the match turning into one. Take your time._'

Harry took a deep breath and nodded visualising a sewing needle and cast the spell. He grinned when his match instantly changed. Hermione glared at him so he muttered to her to just focus on a needle, not the match changing into one. She cast the spell first time and they both turned around to help Neville and Ron.

McGonagall glared at them both. "Mr Potter, Miss Granger! Stop talking to your class mates and focus on your work!"

Hermione almost burst into tears so Harry gently gripped her shoulder. "We already turned our matches into needles Professor. We were just offering help to Ron and Neville."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes and walked over, inspecting their needles. She indicated them to do the spell and Harry and Hermione both turned their needle back into a match. She nodded. "Excellent work you two. Ten points each for successfully casting the spell so quickly." She looked with pride at Harry and nodded at Hermione before moving back to the rest of the class.

Hermione sighed. "Why did she look proud of you but not me?"

Harry shrugged. "Both my parents were magical. Maybe one of them was good at transfiguration. She's old enough to have taught them."

Hermione tilted her head. "Don't you know if one of them was good or not?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know anything about them." he shook his head. "Can we not talk about this?" he turned back to Neville and helped him with the charm. He quickly noticed he was struggling but the wand movements were fine and the incantation was alright. He hummed for a moment. "You got your wand from Olivander right?"

Neville shook his head. "No, this is my dad's wand."

Ran leant over. "I'm using my brother Charlie's old wand."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't he using it?"

Ron shrugged. "He bought his own wand not long after he left school. He works with dragons in Romania so he earns a lot. He got this wand from an old box we have full of old family wands. It was the one best suited to me."

Harry frowned. "The wand chooses the wizard. If your magic doesn't match the wand then you won't be able to cast spells properly."

Neville and Ron sighed. Neville shook his head. "What can we do though?"

"Buy a new wand."

Ron huffed. "As if I could afford one."

Neville nodded. "My family has a lot of money but my gran won't let me touch any of it until I'm twenty one."

Harry tilted his head. "Then I'll buy them for you. My parents left me some money."

Ron raised an eyebrow and Neville jerked back slightly. "Harry, we can't let you do that."

Harry shook his head. "It's fine. A wand is important. You can't do magic without one. I don't mind, really. I don't want for much and my parent's left me a fair bit. I don't think I'll ever spend it all on myself." Harry moved over to held Dean and Seamus while Hermione helped Parvati and Lavender. He waved off all of Ron and Neville's protests. By the end of the lesson the only Gryffindors who didn't turn their match into a needle were Neville and Ron.

'_Ask the professor if a teacher will escort you three to diagon alley. Explain why._'

When the class was let out he held Ron and Neville back and approached professor McGonagall. "Professor? I was wondering if a member of staff could escort the three of us to Diagon Alley as soon as possible. Ron and Neville are using wands that don't suit them and it's affecting their spell casting and performance in class."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Any why do you need to go, Mr Potter?"

"I'm paying."

Neville shook his head. "Harry, really, you don't have to."

Harr looked at him. "Do you want a wand that works? Then let me pay." He turned back to McGonagall.

She looked them over and sighed quietly. "Meet me in the entrance hall after classes today." She sat behind her desk and picked up some papers.

Harry nodded to her. "Thank you professor." He, Ron and Neville left the room and hurried to their next class. He waved Ron and Neville off every time they tried to bring it up so they gave up after a while. Throughout the day Harry could barely keep the smile off his face. He was at a school for magic and he had friends.

After their last class Harry, Neville and Ron headed to the entrance hall and found McGonagall waiting for them. "Come along now."

...

...

(Raw version to be expanded on up there)

He was glad she had told him the layout of the school and some of the passages and shortcuts to his classes so he was never late. Harry was ecstatic when he was elected for the Quidditch team after catching Neville's rememberal. Other than that the year passed quietly until Professor Quirrel had an emotional break down and tried to kill Professor Snape in the great hall with a sun spell and a clove of garlic. The man was in a permanent room at St Mungo's now.

His second year passed. Very quietly. Lockhart was an idiot and was sent to Azkaban when Snape walked in on him raping a third year girl. When questioned it became apparent that he had been doing it all year and obliviating them afterword. The girls stuck very close together after that.

That summer was nice as Harry had taken in a stray dog so when Marge came around he asked her all kinds of questions about what breed it was (Wolf/Husky cross), health care tips (keep the claws trimmed and check his teeth regularly), best brands of dog food (Ebony preferred beef and chicken to store brands, most likely his wolf heritage) and by the end of her stay Marge had actually warmed up to Harry and Ebony. He promised to call her if he had any problems.

His third year was fun. He had stayed at Privet Drive the entire holiday, being allowed to contact Ron, Hermione and Neville with Hedwig so he met his friends for the first time on the train. Ebony growled at Ron a lot and woke up the teacher they were sharing a compartment with. He freaked out at Ebony but freaked out more when he saw Scabbers. It turned out he was an animagus. (Harry already knew who Ebony was, it was difficult to ignore you pet dog suddenly turning into a fully grown man.) Pettigrew was easily detained and was kissed by a dementor who snuck onto the train. His third year then passed rather quietly and he was glad. Sirius' name was cleared and he spent the year co-teaching with Remus.

Harry's fourth year brought on the tri-wizard tournament. Harry thought it was incredibly exiting but was glad he didn't have to compete. He was happier when Remus announced he and Sirius were expecting but was sad they would be taking the next school year off.

Harry despised the new defence teacher. She was a crazy psychotic bitch. He didn't know what had set the minister off but for some reason he was adamant that Dumbledore was after his position in the ministry. And was trying to overtake him. He sent Umbridge to intervene.

...

Harry makes DA like before but without the focus on Voldemort.

Umbridge discovers them.

Dumbledore leaves like before. Castle instates Harry as headmaster. Harry gives Snape the defence position for the rest of the year and brings Slughorn to take over potions for the rest of the year.

Snape thinks Harry's firing him. Harry waits until Snape is about to leave the castle to confront him Snape finally realises Harry is giving him the defence position.

Harry builds student council to help tell him what the students need. Two students from each year group on each house council, two students from each house council to the student council.

Harry adds new subjects and brings in teachers for them, upgrades Hogwarts' curriculum to be harder on students, giving them less time to mess around and have to work harder. British standards for education way behind ICW standards.

Harry buys new equipment for school. New brooms for flying class, two full Quidditch team brooms to be used by the Quidditch teams during games and practices. New equipment for the potions classroom. New books for all teachers and new supplies for their classrooms. Buys everything with his own money.

Dumbledore comes back to school and passively demands Harry give him back the position as headmaster while Harry is in an interview with some reporters from different papers. Harry refuses. Papers report Dumbledore being selfish and after the position of headmaster whereas Harry is looking out for Britain as a whole. Make Dumbledore look bad.

Dumbledore confronts Harry while in Diagon alley. Huge duel, Harry wins Dumbles wand. Goes to Gringotts and gets emancipated. Is given Potter Family Lordship Ring. Resurrection stone.

Death visits Harry that night, explains about family curse. Harry is first member of the family to have all three items. Potter's descended from Ignotus Pevrell and Death who had a son together. Harry would live until he had a son and gave him all three items.

Harry becomes first immortal headmaster of Hogwarts.


	8. Snarry BDSM

Story name: Unnamed.

Genre: Romance

Rating: M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry and Snape in established BDSM relationship. Harry dom/Sev sub. Harry always has to do what everyone is expecting of him, follow orders and never in control, Severus always in control, never show emotion and never letting himself feel anything.

At order meeting, argue, harry jumps snape over the table, end up with harry on his back on the floor, snape straddling him, kissing violently. Harry pushes them upright, snape stands them up and pushes harry into a wall.

Tonks: Could you not do that in the kitchen!

Harry and snape move away from eachother.

Harry: fine. *looks at snape* bedroom?

Snape: I like your thinking

Harry: I like your arse

Sirius: OI! You keep your filthy hands off my godson you disgusting piece of shit!

Harry and snape look at Sirius.

Harry: Just for that, were using your room.

Snape chucles.

Harry looked snape over: snape. Get the cuffs and the electrified ring with the extra attachments, put it on, turn it on, cuffs in place and wait for me.

Snape swallows hard and nods: in his room?

Harry: yes. *pauses* go!

Snape flees the room.

Harry watches him go and then turns back to Sirius: I'm not expecting you to understand my choices and I'm not asking you to accept them, but if you insult him again I will make Voldemort look like a school girl throwing a temper tantrum. I love him and he loves me. What we do together is none of your business. How we live our lives is none of your business. He needs me just as much as I need him. I'm his Dominant. He needs me.

Remus: dominant?

Harry: yes.

Remus: so you're his dominant… and he's your submissive?

Harry: yes. Now, if you excuse me, I have a lover tied to a bed waiting for me to pound him into a matrass. Mad-eye, if you watch, I will blind you.

Mad-eye: not the kind of thing I would watch anyway potter.

Insert sex scene here!


	9. Symphonia Pokemon Xover

Story name: Unnamed.

Genre: Adventure

Rating: T/?

Category: Tales of Symphonia/Pokemon Cross over.

* * *

A bright light shot through the sky, hitting the ground somewhere. Everywhere in the world people and their partners stopped and stared at the light before all the cities broke out in cheers. Pokémon and human alike celebrated the coming of the oracle.

The renegade guards at the gates of each town knew their job was about to get harder, while those inside the town in the missions' office knew they would be getting more business. The churches started gathering supplies for the pilgrimages they would do, now that the chosen would finally begin on her journey. The pubs and bars got ready for a large influx of customers and a large dent in profits but, when something worth celebrating comes around, they knew it was worth it.

The Mercenary guild gathered in the missions offices around the world and spoke over the Renegades' video screens, deciding who would do what and when to help the chosen on her journey. It was decided that Kratos Aurion would accompany her on the entire journey. While each region selected a pair of guides to help guide and locate her in their respective region.

The Desian Grand cardinals grit their teeth and worked their men harder, the Desians more than happy for any excuse to pillage and plunder. Their numbers had dropped drastically since the renegades became a full front business. The Half-elves who had only joined the Desians because they had nowhere else to go left and joined the renegades. They were welcomed with open arms and after a probation period were allowed into human towns.

After the number of half-elves who didn't want to fight had risen, a half-elf village was built between Hima and Izoold. It got a lot of trade for their crafting skills and their elfin cuisine. Now, the Renegades funded a chain restaurant in every village as well as hospitals with half-elf healers who healed both humans and their Pokémon partners.

The Pokémon, however, was the biggest change in the world.

About a hundred and fifty years ago a human took a newborn wolf cub in as a pet he raised it and trained it. He got a visit from a strange man in a weird outfit and was given a strange device called a pokéball. He became the first Pokémon trainer. Over the next year he managed to tame many monsters and ended up with a team of eight monsters that he used to fight other monsters.

Soon, other people wanted tame monsters too.

No one knew how the pokéballs ended up in the stores but they did. As more people caught and tamed Pokémon, the monsters in each region began to calm down as with less competition for breeding and hunting grounds they didn't have to go so close to human villages. People began to refer to the captured monsters as Pokémon. Pocket monsters.

Then the unexplainable happened.

A Pokémon evolved.

Since then monsters, both tame and wild, had been evolving and changing as they age. They developed special abilities that worked like magic. Some could evolve into different forms depending on the circumstances. Others had a set evolution chain.

* * *

Raine nodded. "Very good Genis. Now, does anyone know what became of-" she was cut off as a bright light shone through the room. All the occupants called out and shielded their eyes. When the light faded Raine could see her class was distressed. "Calm down everyone. That was the oracle. Class is dismissed for today, go on home now and pray for the chosen's success." The children nodded and ran out to the playground to collect their Pokémon partners before running home.

Raine looked at Genis, Colette and Lloyd who all stood looking expectantly at her. "Oh, alright. Come along." She led the trio with their Pokémon partners out of the village and towards the village northern entrance. The four of them made their way to the temple where a redheaded man in purple was waiting for them along with Lady Phaidra, her Pidgeot (Gust), Frank and his Arcanine (Ember).

They got to the top of the stairs and Frank smiled down at them. "Glad you could all join us. I was beginning to wonder if you'd get here." He teased.

Colette giggled. "Father, you know I was coming."

Phaidra smiled. "Of course dear, now chosen one, this is Kratos Aurion. He was selected by the mercenary guild to accompany you on your journey. He's a rare one, doesn't have a Pokémon companion."

Lloyd blinked. "Really? But... everyone has at least one partner! I have two!" He gestured down at the ash grey Poochyena by his side. Ash had actually appeared out of nowhere one night. When Lloyd had gone to bed in the morning Noishe was alone in his stall, when he woke up the next day, Noishe was licking a pup whose fur was standing up in so many directions Lloyd didn't know whether Noishe was grooming it or styling its fur.

At first he thought maybe Noishe was a girl and he hadn't noticed but he cast that thought aside less than a second later. Noishe was definitely male. Maybe he had a lady friend somewhere who didn't want their pup. Whatever the reason Lloyd took the pup in, captured, raised and trained it. Now, Ash is a constant presence by his side, she won't even leave during class, choosing to curl up beneath Lloyd's chair instead.

Genis nodded and patted his Ponyta, Blaze. Blaze was a midget among Ponyta but he was much stronger than any other one. Many people were annoyed when regular horses turned into Ponyta and Rapidash along with various other types.

Colette's Yanma buzzed from her shoulder. Everyone had been surprised when Colette was going to choose her Pokémon partner. Everyone assumed she was going to choose a dog-type. Instead, as soon as she walked in, half of the flying types had flown over and she spent a good hour petting each of them and chatting aimlessly before settling on the Yanma who had landed on her shoulder five minutes in.

Most of the villagers believed she only chose it because she couldn't get to the dog Pokémon but Colette told Lloyd and Genis that she had chosen Yama as soon as she had landed on her shoulder, she just wanted to pet the birdies for a bit longer. This was so like Colette that Lloyd wondered why anyone thought different.

Raine looked down at her Kirlia, Ginny, before looking back at Phaidra. "Lloyd has a point. Everyone gets a Pokémon partner, especially those who venture out of the villages."

Kratos looked to the side. "I had a partner once. He died fourteen years ago. I haven't taken another one since." He held up a pokéball that looked old and unused.

Raine blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to..."

The man nodded. "That is alright. You didn't know."


	10. A Destined Child

Story name: A destined Child

Genre: Family/(Romance?)

Rating: M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Snape apparated to an alley way in London. Honestly, what was his grandfather thinking, putting something like that in his will? He needed to have an heir within the next three years to get the Prince fortune? How was he supposed to do that?

His mind turned to what Trelawney had said before he left.

"_You'll find the girl you need in a place you wouldn't expect to find her. A girl not of this world. You'll know her by her Empath abilities."_

Was he supposed to meet some woman and fall madly in love with each other now? How absurd. He looked to the side and spotted a woman huddled in a shadow on a dumpster. He was about to just pass by when something pulled him back.

The woman stood up and stepped out of the shadows. She was barefooted and far too thin to be healthy. For some reason her hair was a sky blue colour. He could feel the magic in her so she was at least Muggleborn. He looked her over. Not bad... she could do if she was willing. "How about a trade?" he found himself asking.

The woman tilted her head. "What kind of trade?"

Snape regarded the woman for a while. "I find myself in need of an heir in order to gain my inheritance from my grandparents. It is a sizable fortune. If you could provide me with one, I would provide for you. A house, food whenever you need it, clean clothes, running water anything you need, within reason."

The woman regarded him for a moment before she nodded. "Alright." Snape raised an eyebrow and held his arm out to her. Not many people would accept something like that, though perhaps she was so desperate to get off the streets she was willing to do whatever it took. He apparated them to Spinners End.


	11. Baby Snape

Story name: Unnamed

Genre: Family

Rating: T

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry jerked around at the shout behind him. Neville's cauldron went critical and exploded all over Snape, who had pushed Neville down but hadn't gotten out of the way himself.

Malfoy picks up baby Snape, not doing it right

Harry gets frustrated and takes baby off him, baby instantly stops crying

go to hospital wing

find out Snape is stuck as baby and used baby magic to bond to Harry

McGonagall gives Harry private rooms

Harry finished last few weeks of classes and does exams, Andy helps with Snape.

Harry stays at castle and gets job as defence teacher.

Molly tries to make Harry give up Snape, Harry refuses, argument, never speak to her again.

Andy passes, leaving Teddy in Harry's custody.

Harry has two sons now, XD


	12. Pern Story 1

Story name: unnamed

Genre: Adventure

Rating: T

Category: Dragonriders of Pern

* * *

Drake sat in front of his laptop typing the final part of a draft for a Fan Fiction idea that had been annoying him for weeks. He saved the file and slid off his bed, landing with a muffled thud on his feet on the floor. He stretched and smiled when his back gave a satisfying pop. He glared up at his bed and sighed. He would have to start packing soon. He looked at the calendar on the wall and jerked.

He should have started packing yesterday.

He quickly got his suitcases out of the attic and lay them on his sister's bed. Half an hour later had all his clothes packed and ready and he was starting on everything else. His laptop was closed and unplugged, shoved into the bag and placed next to the packed suitcase of clothes.

He fished the guitar case (it was a material one rather than a hard case) out of the corner it had been stashed into and slid it over his acoustic guitar, Lukas (Yes, he named his guitar Lukas. His sister named hers Jennifer). He then found his flute and dismantled it, putting back into its case and sliding the case into the guitar case with Lukas. A quick search had his sheet music all collected and packed into the guitar case along with his old recorder, spare strings, picks, cleaning cloths and some drum sticks.

He then went around the room and found all of his other belongings (roller-skates, rucksack, DS, Phone, Kindle, headphones (x3), a few plushies, etc.) and packed them all into the second suitcase.

Shortly after that Drake had everything he owned packed away in the two suitcases and guitar bag. He looked around the room and realised how much was still in here. It was all his sister's. He sighed heavily and slung the guitar bag over his back before grabbing the two suitcases and laptop bag and heading downstairs.

A short wait and the phone rang. He answered it and nodded silently at the voice that came across. He responded back and hung up, grabbing his cases and slipping out the front door. He locked it and slid the key through the letter box before going down to the road and putting his bags into the back of the black vehicle that was waiting. He slid into the back seat and kept his head down throughout the drive.

He stared up in awe when they arrived. The ship was huge.

No ordinary people were allowed to go on this trip. Drake was considered lucky. He didn't think so. He knew that the only reason he was going on this trip was because it was one way. There was no coming back. He was being sent because of his un-natural abilities. His mind was open, quite literally, to the world around him. He could hear the voices of everyone's minds, he could feel their emotions, he could read their intentions.

He was the strongest Telepath in existence. Telepaths were rare but they had only been in existence for the past decade. The Sun's pull had grabbed an asteroid at the fringes of its orbit. It had passed through a cloud of some kind and crashed into earth. It had landed in the middle of the African Desert. There was huge loss of life and the dust cloud it brought up killed more than the initial impact had done. The increase in the earth's rotation had thrown people off for a long time too.

Then the mutations started.

Acid rained from the sky over the whole of Africa and many of its closes neighbours, causing those countries to be abandoned. Plants and animals began to mutate. It was about five years ago that people noticed they weren't immune to the changes. Humans began to show powers that they didn't have before. Telepathy, Empathy, Telekinesis, Teleportation, Matter Manipulation (not all at the same time though). Many people compared it to Marvel's X-Men.

This lessened the blow actually. To have a frame of reference. But still, those who experienced the mutations were in small numbers. Hate crime was high.

Strangely enough the only people who developed these powers were not the kind to use them for ill.

Until now.

One person.

That was all it took. One person to destroy the delicate balance. He discovered some kind of organism at the crash site. He took a sample and took it with him back to his lab in America.

The organism was set loose.

It destroyed half of America before it was stopped. It burned in fire and drowned in water but ate any and all organic matter and with the number of people around as well as the plant life on windows and such... it did too much damage to be ignored.

Now the World Leaders were desperate. They were sending some of us out to find the source of this asteroid and the cloud it passed through. They heard about Drake's Telepathic skills and evaluated him. They thought he would be perfect and enlisted him to help.

He was happy to go. He knew his family feared him and what he could do. Most people did.

Drake walked up the ramp and showed his documentation to the man at the door. He was shown to the room he would be using on the ship and put his bags away. He pulled out his brown blanket and walked to the central room. Everyone not held in Cryostasis was then strapped to a chair shortly before the ship took off. Drake closed his eyes and tried to resist throwing up. He hated planes. Space Ships were worse.

Once they reached orbit the captain put the gravity booster on and everyone was allowed to unplug. Drake went to a window and looked out at the planet he called home, disappearing slowly. He sighed and went back across the ship. He found his way to his office and walked in. He was supposed to find the source of the asteroid. They had its rough co-ordinates but that was ten years ago.

After several hours Drake decided to go to bed and went back to his room, still wrapped in his brown blanket. The week passed in much the same fashion. They operated with the bare minimum of crew, everyone else in Cryostasis for now. When they got to the edge of the solar system they looked out at space.

Drake stood next to the captain. "So. This is it. We've not only left our planet but we are now to leave the solar system completely_._"

The captain nodded. "This is it. We're the first to go this far."

Drake nodded and waited until the devices before them declared us officially in deep space. "Congratulations, Captain. You're the first man to pilot a ship out of our Solar System_._"

He grinned down the much younger man and nodded his thanks. Drake went back to his room. He didn't know why he wasn't allowed to sleep in cryo. He wasn't essential personal.

During the night alarms flared and drake woke up, feeling the panic of everyone on board. The Captains voice flared over the speakers. "All personal to the Cryo Chambers." Drake stood up and hurried to meet with the rest of the crew.

What happened next was a blur. Drake was aware that they had found the cloud and the substance was attacking the ship, doing significant damage. Drake helped the crew that was awake put all the other personal into the escape pods and send them off. He stayed with the captain when the man ordered him to get in one, while the rest of the crew followed his order.

Drake shook his head. "We need to get our findings back to Earth." He and the captain obtained hard copies of the documents (Drake quickly scribbling a few notes on the organism "Alive, not conscious, no mind").

Drake took a deep breath. "I'm sorry sir." The captain turned around to ask him what he meant when he sent a sharp telepathic blast at the man, knocking him out. He lifted the man into an escape pod and put all the documents in with him before shutting the lid and keying in the necessary co-ordinates. He watched as the escape pod shot off towards Earth, leaving the ship and the organism behind.

Along with Drake.

He rushed back to his room, quickly packed up and carried his two suitcases and guitar bag to the evacuation room. He stood outside an escape pod. This was his chance for a fresh start. He keyed in an emergency code and set the timer and direction before climbing in the pod with his bags and shut the door.

The Cryogenics kicked in as soon as the door shut.

He wasn't aware of the timer counting down.

He wasn't aware of the pod being blasted out of the ship.

He wasn't aware of the ship imploding as the organism ate through it.

He wasn't aware of his pod shooting off in a different direction to all the others, shooting towards deep space as he had set it to.

*Time skip*

Drake took a deep breath and opened his eyes. There was a vast green expanse above him. He quickly typed in some key codes on the computer on the inside of the pod (the combinations were written on a sticker to the side of it). He gasped at what he was displayed.

The pod was on the ground, in open air (rather than underwater, thankfully).

The air was breathable.

The Atmosphere was extremely similar to Earth.

The gravity was fine though perhaps a bit lighter than Earth.

He had been in the pod for 3,205,410 Earth years.

He took a deep breath and activated the 'De-frost' protocol. It would take him a while to recover from being in cryo for that long but this would give the healing process a kick start. He took a deep breath and opened his mind, the escape pod's weren't designed to keep out telepaths. He reached out slowly at first, looking at the wildlife around him.

He was by the sea, there was clear aquatic life, that was a dolphin pod... what are those flying lizards? One few over and landed on the door of the pod and Drake gasped at it. A tiny dragon. He loved dragons. Tiny, cute ones especially. He looked at its mind and found it was strangely sentient.

It also had some kind of collective, ancestral memory. Through this one he was able to see many others and many events of the past. He watched a few events, humans first arriving on the planet, Humans and dragons making some kind of bond, a silver organism falling from the sky, lots of humans in boats, sailing across a vast ocean, a woman on a dragon disappearing and reappearing with hundreds of dragons behind her.

He soon found out that the little creature had a short attention span as it saw a fish and flew off after only a minute or so. Drake stretched his mind out further and found a little fishing port of some kind. The place itself was built into the cliff. He skimmed over the minds of the people living there, he didn't want to alert them to his presence. He found a large mind sitting on the cliff, soaking in the sunshine.

The creature sent a sense of curiosity back with a vague mental image of one of the miniature dragons he had seen earlier before he snapped further to attention. "_Hello?_"

Drake blinked within his pod. "_Hello_." He answered back. "_My name is Drake_."

"_I am Canth_." The reply was accompanied with a mental image of a large brown dragon. "_My Rider is F'nor_." An image of a tall man with dark hair and amber eyes. "_How do you speak to me_?"

Drake smirked. "_The same way you speak, Canth. I speak with my mind. I can speak with my mouth as well, though I am much too far from you for you to hear me if I spoke with my mouth so I speak to you with my mind_."

"_Hmm... I didn't know humans could talk with their minds_."

"_Not many can and I doubt any here can_."

Drake got the impression that Canth had tilted his head in confusion. "_What do you mean_?"

Drake mentally shrugged. "_It is difficult to explain and would take a long time as well. I am not sure I understand most of it_."

Canth huffed. "_I have time. F'nor is talking with the ground crews about the last fall_."

Drake Frowned at the unfamiliar terms. "_Fall? Ground crews? I don't know what those are_."

"_The people who see if we dropped any thread during a fall_."

He shook his head. "_Fall? Thread? I still don't know what you're talking about, Canth._"

He sensed shock from the dragon. "_How can you not know_?"

Drake bit his lip nervously and he knew the dragon could sense his nervousness. "_That is something I would rather not talk about. Can you tell me about this world_?"

The dragon snorted and started to explain some things. "_This is Pern. Every pass Thread falls. It kills all life so we dragons flame it. We and our riders fly when it falls and kill it_." He then explained about the Weyrs and Holds as best as he could. Drake was quickly made aware of just how much a Dragons doesn't know, even when they have a rider.

Soon enough Canth's rider had finished what he was doing and the two went back to their Weyr.

Drake spent a while sending cursory looks over the people, never pushing deep enough into anyone's mind for them to know he was there. He winced when he felt the mind of an old lady clearly close to passing. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. If he was going to learn about this world and not be discovered then...

He gently entered the lady's mind like he did with Canth and looked through her memories he let her watch her personal ones and tried not to pay too close attention. Once he had gone through them all he slid out of her mind and shook his head. He hated looking at people's memories without their permission and explaining everything first but he didn't really have a choice at the moment. He was stuck in this pod until he de-frosted properly unless he wanted to spend a few days unconscious.

Going by the lady's memories he knew what clothes would be accepted on this world. Almost all of his clothes were out. Most of what he owned was out too. It didn't fit with this world. He was glad they had guitars so he could keep Lukas, though he wasn't sure about his flute. They had wooden ones... he could probably pass it off. The recorder was out. It was plastic. They didn't have that here.

He stepped out and jumped into the water. He closed the pod and activated the cloaking field before shoving it further back out to sea. It eventually got stuck on some rocks and he couldn't move it at all. It would have to do.

He grimaced at the sea air and went to the beach. From the looks of it, if he wanted to get out he would have to climb the cliff. He sighed and secured his bag properly before starting the arduous climb. It was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be, though he supposed that must be due to the difference in gravity.

He sat at the top of the cliff and looked around for a moment before ducking down as he spotted someone coming along the beach. He tentatively reached out with his mind, careful not to let this girl notice him. She didn't seem to notice any difference. He sighed in relief and withdrew when the thoughts running through her head where in English. A much different version of it that used terms he didn't understand, but English none the less.

He looked her over and sighed again when he realised her clothes strongly resembled the ones he was wearing over his flight suit. All personal had one as it was freezing on the ship, even with heating as they needed to conserve power. They had these suits that help regulate the body's temperature.

Drake smiled again when he realised his boots were good too. People criticised him for his admittedly slightly medieval style of outfit. Not laughing now are they?

Drake froze. They aren't laughing now. They've been dead for two hundred and fifty million years. He shook his head. No use thinking about it now. He sighed heavily and opened his mind, allowing the world around him to drift in along with hundreds of voices calling welcome to him.

His eyes snapped open and he looked to the voices. None of them were anywhere near him so how did he hear them? He singled out one voice and spoke. "_Who are you_?"

The voice sounded smug as it replied back. "_I am brown Canth. Who are you, Dragon Boy?_"

Drake gasped at the mental image that accompanied the name. The voices were dragons. "_I am Drake._" he replied. "_How do you all contact me?_"

He spent a good few hours talking to Canth, learning all he could from him before shakily making his way to where Canth told him he would fins people. He knew more about this world now and felt comfortable trying to blend in. he approached the Hold and looked over at the impressive gates. He heard someone approaching just as his vision finally blacked out and he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

He opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on a bed of some kind (much more comfortable than the one on the ship) and there was a basket on the bedside table that was glowing faintly. There was a girl sitting next to his bed. She was the one he had seen on the beach earlier.

"Hey. About time you woke up, You've been asleep all day." She seemed kind and from what Drake was reading off her she had no ulterior motive. "Hold on, I'll get you something." She turned around and fiddled with something behind her for a moment before turning around. "Here, some _Klah_." She helped him to sit up slightly and drink the drink. It tasted like coffee, but with a hint of chocolate and cinnamon. One it was drunk the girl halped him sit against the pillows and held out a bowl of broth. "Chicken Broth. Normal we only have fish but the head woman said chicken would be better for you."

Drake smiled gratefully at her and tried to take the bowl off her. He didn't even get half way before his arms fell and he lay back with a sigh. A sight grimace and she understood, feeding the broth to him instead. He smiled weakly. "Thank you." he croaked.

"No problem. I'm Menolly by the way. Welcome to Half Circle Sea Hold."

Drake nodded. "Drake."

He sat and listened to Menolly talk for a while, occasionally saying something. He managed to establish with this girl that he had no memories and had found himself on the beach before coming here. She believed him. He learned a lot from her, as she took it upon herself to explain everything in the hopes that it would jog a memory. It was important for him to know common knowledge. He kept a gentle touch on the girl's mind so he could see what she was talking about.


	13. SnapeAlan Richman

Story name: unnamed

Genre: Family/(?)

Rating: T/M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Severus sat back on his feet and stared at the runic circle he had been drawing on the floor. After carefully scrutinising it for any mistakes he smiled and stood up. He washed his hands and turned to face the two ghosts that where double checking his work. "Well?"

Hermione nodded. "It's perfect. Are you sure you're willing to try this? It's never been done before."

Severus nodded. "Yes. I'm sure. It has to be done. I'm the only one left."

Harry nodded. "Even if it doesn't work it's not like we're losing anything. Severus is right. He's the only one left alive on our side. We're lucky he hasn't been discovered yet."

And Harry was right. No one had anticipated what happened. After Albus' death by Draco Malfoy, the wizarding world was in uproar. This was increased when Harry was killed by his uncle the first day of the holidays. Things just snowballed out of control then. Members of the order were systematically cut down. In the end the only one who survived was Severus and that was only because he managed to convince the dark lord that he was on his side the whole time.

After that, a lot of Dumbledore's manipulations came to light. People were devastated to realise the man they worshiped as a hero was so cruel. They believed than maybe if they were wrong about him, they might be wrong about Voldemort. They were wrong to think that.

The dark lord has had complete control of Britain for about six years now.

Hermione sighed. "You're right. I'm just worried about you, Severus."

Severus smiled at her. The three of them had become close over the years. Harry spent most of his time in Severus' rooms at the castle. He was careful not to let anyone see him, no one but Severus and Hermione knew he stayed as a was one of the last to be killed. She chose to stay behind so she could help Severus. She was the only one from the order who was willing to believe in Severus' innocence.

Severus shook himself out of his musings. "I'm sure I will be fine." He took a deep breath and stepped into the centre of the circle. He began the incantation. It was long and had taken him a week to get it right without making a mistake. The ritual was designed to send Severus back in time to before he took the dark mark.

He planned on hiding away in the muggle world until he had recovered. He had no plans on becoming a slave to either dark lord.

When he finished the incantation Severus gasped and screamed in pain. It felt like he was being pulled in every direction at once. He screamed and writhed around, desperate for the torture to end. It was so much worse than being held under the crutiatus. He felt like he was being pulled and stretched, twisted and turned about like a rag doll in a washing machine.

His insides churned and twisted and just when he felt he would go mad from the pain it all stopped and he found himself lying gasping for breath. It was a few minutes before he was able to crack his eyes open a little. He quickly shut them again as bright light blinded him. It took a few more tries before he was able to squint at his surroundings.

He found himself staring at a white ceiling. There were people surrounding him. The blurry uniform told him these were healers from St Mungo's. Severus groaned and tried to sit up but found himself unable to move. Failing that he decided to sleep and see if he could move when he woke up.

The next time he woke was similar. There was a nurse there, changing his sheets while he lay on a stretcher hovering next to the bed. She told him he was in intensive care at St Mungo's. He passed out again before he could find out what happened.

The next two times he woke were uneventful. He was alone in his room and managed to stay awake for a longer each time. The fourth time he woke he found Dumbledore sitting in the chair by his bedside. "'d'Mstr?"

"Mr Snape. How are you feeling?"

"L'k I gthtbu a bss."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes. I can imagine."

"W'thpnd?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly down at him. "On the last day of term two of your housemates rushed into the hospital wing. They were rather shaken. Apparently one of your housemates went a little crazy. He attacked you and several other students. Only two others had to come here but they have both been discharged already. We are not sure what he hit you with. He was ranting about refusing to join 'that madman' and said some rather unsavoury things about the rest of you."

Severus frowned. He didn't remember that happening.

Wait a minute….

Dumbledore was dead…

Housemates?

So the spell worked then.

Severus sighed and relaxed into the bed.

Dumbledore smiled sadly at him. "We checked for the dark mark on each of you. Only four of you year mates had it but it is not a crime to have a tattoo so no one was punished. For all that Mr Potter was declaring you a death eater it came as a huge surprise that you don't have a mark."

Severus rumbled something. Even he was not sure what he was trying to say. He yawned and relaxed further into the pillows. The headmaster patted his leg and bid him farewell.

Severus soon slipped off to sleep.

It was several weeks before he was able to stay awake all day but he tired far too easily for the healers to be willing to send him home. Especially when he told them where his scars came from. His father had already beaten his mother to death the year before so he was given the dementor's kiss without any fuss. But this meant that Severus was then going to be taking care of himself and in his current state of health that was impossible.

It was another month before he was able to leave the hospital. The first thing he did was go to Gringotts. He managed to gain control of the prince estates and stayed in prince manor, after getting everything he could from spinners end. The house elves were delighted to have a human to look after again.

Severus sighed and looked up muggle schools. If he intended to stay away from the dark lord then he would need to disappear into the muggle world. Of the three colleges he applied to, only one got back to him and he set up a meeting with the headmistress.

He walked into her office and smiled at her. "Thank you, for agreeing to meet with me." He walked over, leaning heavily on the crutch one of his elves had given him. It made getting around a lot easier. He sat in the chair opposite her desk. "With term starting in only a week I can imagine late entries are the last thing you want to deal with."

The lady, Mrs West, shook her head. "It is not a problem at all, Mr Snape. You mentioned you had been hospitalised until a few days ago so I don't see any reason to deny you at least an interview."

After healing himself and applying a few cosmetic charms (just to whiten his teeth a little and clean his hair of seven years of potion residue) he cut and styled his hair a bit and managed to enrol at a muggle college to take what subjects he missed. When he enrolled they told him to take at least one other course from a list they gave him. He chose drama. He had been a spy for years. He knew how to act.

Surprisingly, he actually enjoyed it. So when he finished his exams he majored in Drama. Within three years he was a fully qualified actor and was taking minor roles in things. Just parts like a witness in a crime show. He went by the stage name, Alan Rickman.

He still kept up with the wizarding world news but as far as they were aware, Severus Snape disappeared after graduation.

Despite this he was still surprised when Lily and James turned up on his doorstep one day early October. He had moved out of Prince Manor and was living in London. He let them in and made them coffee. Lily and James explained that they knew someone close to them was a traitor and the three of them were in danger. They explained that they wanted him to look out for Harry if anything should happen. They weren't asking him to take him in, just protect him.

This was something Severus easily swore. "You're my best friend Lily. Even if I'm not yours. You are the only person who has ever been kind to me before I moved back into this world."

Potter tilted his head. "Why did you move here anyway?"

Severus smiled. "No one knew me here. I was able to get away from the dark lord and not have to worry about him coming after me. Despite my face being everywhere, I look a lot different now than I did back then."

It was true. He had grown into his nose, and with his hair cut short he looked completely different. He was actually considered a very attractive man. Many women swooned just hearing him speak. He knew his voice was enough to reduce many people, both men and women, into puddles of goo.

He was already climbing the ladder and had an agent who was negotiating with someone about a bigger part in something.

Lily and James stayed a while longer before excusing themselves.

Just then Severus got a call from his agent and he rushed to the set to do the audition for the movie. This was a big point in his career.

A month later he finally got the news that Lily and James were dead but Harry had lived. Someone else had heard the prophesy and delivered it to the dark lord it would seem.

Severus left his house late that night and kidnapped Harry. After a quick trip to Gringotts he had legally adopted Harry in both worlds. Going back home he summoned his elves to bring some of the baby furniture from Prince Manor to his house. The furniture in Prince Manor really was beautiful.

Having a son didn't really disrupt his acting. One of the elves that work for the Prince line had a unique bloodline. It was very rare but it meant that she was able to shape shift to look completely human if she wanted to. Her name was Esmeralda. So, in the eyes of the public, Esmeralda was Harry's nanny. The two of them went to work with Severus but stayed in the dressing rooms.

As the years passed Severus became more famous and got better roles. This allowed him to get his own cabin for Harry to stay in during the day.

Fortunately for Severus Harry got a few of his mother's genetics that he was able to bring out with a few potions. He did not require glasses this time around and his hair was a lot more manageable with a red sheen.

Growing up as an actor's son, Harry was also included in a few shots. By the time he was six he was already playing minor roles. By eight he had starred in his own movie. His stage name was Alex Rickman.

Severus had to explain to Harry that when they were being actors they needed a different name. At home he was Harry but when they went out he was Alex.

One thing Severus was happy about was that Harry's scar was non-existent this time around. He had applied some balms as soon as he got custody and the thing just vanished. If it had been left it would have been a permanent feature but since it was taken care of it was gone.

Since their lives were always so busy Harry was home schooled. In both muggle subjects and magic.

After Harry turned eight he said something that got Severus thinking. What if Muggleborns knew about the magical world sooner? What if they got a beginners education? After speaking to the goblins and getting his hands on a spell that Hogwarts uses to track magical children he created a book that told him about magical children in Britain. He then sent letters via Gringotts to Muggleborns who had disappeared back into the muggle world. He got replies from a lot of them and bought several properties across Britain and turned them into schools. A chain of both primary schools (Infant and junior) that specialised in educating Muggleborn children about the magical world.

The Muggleborns he wrote to were all either qualified teachers or were capable of teaching a child spells in a certain subject. They learned all the subjects that they would learn in Muggle schools but they also learned wizarding traditions, simple charms (although they won't get a wand until they turn eleven they could use practice wands), magical creatures, Herbology and a few other things. Some things that people didn't think needed to be said were actually were big differences between the two worlds. Men can get pregnant in the wizarding world. It was a complicated process normally but occasionally you found two men capable of conceiving naturally.

The chain of schools ended up being named 'Northern Lights'. It wasn't Severus' idea but one of the teachers had said it and the others liked the idea.

Naturally as is the case when muggles and magic mix, abused children started being discovered. Severus then quickly turned Prince Manor into 'Northern Lights Orphanage for Magical Children'. Unfortunately some people started leaving werewolf pups on their doorstep. This meant Severus had to pay Gringotts to build a second building. This one was designed for the pups to use during the full moon. It ended up being nicknamed 'Moon Light Orphanage for wolf cubs'. Severus immediately wrote to Lupin and gave him a job.

By the time Harry turned eleven, Severus was not only a famous actor but also owned a successful chain of schools and an orphanage that was in two branches. He had also taken his defence and potions masteries during a lull in between movies.

Harry was also a couple of years ahead in his education and was a famous child actor. When he turned eleven the two of them sat at the table to think things over.

Severus looked to Harry. "Son, now you're eleven you will be getting a letter from Hogwarts and asked to attend. Both your birth parents and I attended so I want you to as well but... the school is run by Albus Dumbledore..."

Harry smiled. "Don't worry dad. You said yourself, I'm a natural at occlumency. I'll be fine. Besides, I want to go. I want to be normal for a change."

Severus nodded. "I'm sure you can skip ahead a few years over the years and graduate early."

The two of them smirked. Yeah, that wouldn't be happening. Harry would attend for a few years then pull out, take his exams independently and go back to acting.

Severus had also received a letter from Dumbledore asking him to come and teach. Since he had somehow learned about his promise to Lily and James he knew Severus had promised to protect Harry.

Once they decided Harry sent his reply saying he would be happy to attend and Severus also wrote a letter saying he would take a few years out of his busy life to teach.

He called his agent and told him he was taking a few years off but would be back to acting in a few years.

Harry's school supplies were bought quickly. There was a bit of confusion with his wand as Olivander seemed convinced one wand had chosen Harry when it clearly was a bad match. Eventually they made one up fresh and left the old shop. What was so special about that holly and phoenix feather wand?

Harry immediately fell in love with a snowy owl in the pet shop and Severus bought her.

Before long the two of them were off to Hogwarts. Severus had told Harry that since he was an actor he wanted to make and entrance. He would be watching the sorting though a partially open door but he wouldn't come into the hall until just before Albus introduced him by name.

Sure enough he was able to 'miss' the sorting by claiming he was just finishing some potions and taking them up to the hospital wing. While he did actually do that he was back in time to see the sorting. It came as no surprise when Harry was sorted into Ravenclaw. The boy was a total bookworm. He got it both from his mother and from Severus.

Albus stood up and addressed the hall. "Now we have a few start of term announcements. Firstly, I would like to ask all students to avoid the third floor corridor on the left hand side unless they wish to die a slow and painful death. The forbidden forest is exactly that, forbidden and a list of banned items can be found on Mr Filch's door should any of you wish to see it. Secondly I would like to welcome back professor Quirrel who has returned to us to teach Defence against the dark arts. Lastly I would like to welcome to our staff-"

Severus stepped in through the door. "Sorry, Albus. I'm not late am I?"

The whole room broke out into whispers. 'Is that Alan Rickman?' 'Oh my god it's Rickman!' 'No way?' 'I didn't know he was magical!'

Severus smirked and addressed the hall. "Some of you may recognise me or course, for those of you who don't, I am Professor Severus Snape, though many of you know me by my stage name, Alan Rickman. You may call me either Professor Snape, or Professor Rickman. Whichever you are more comfortable with."

One of the fifth year students raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Sir, is Harry Potter, Alex Rickman?"

Severus smirked and nodded. "Indeed he is." Harry took a mock bow and Severus smirked. He walked up the hall and took his place at the head table next to Quirrel.


	14. Harry, ToS Xover

Story name: Unnamed

Genre: Family/(?)

Rating: T/M (depends on how explicit i get)

Category: Harry Potter/Tales of Symphonia cross over

* * *

Harry looked at the gobsmacked witch in front of him and smirked. 'Bet she wasn't expecting that' he thought. She had come to collect Harry Potter. What she found was so much more. The 'house' that they were in was more of a mansion. One of the Potter properties actually.

Living in the house with Harry where a number of beings that hadn't existed a few years ago. They all had a human form although seven of them weren't fully human and twenty two of them were never human to begin with.

To be more precise, there were; two angels, a half-angel, three half-elves, six humans, eight centurions, fourteen summon spirits, one man made summon spirit and one fabrication of a summon spirit. All of them were characters from Tales of Symphonia.

Yup.

Harry was so abnormal he couldn't even be a self-insert properly.

See, Harry was neglected when he was at the Dursleys. They were constantly going on holiday and leaving Harry alone in the house. Harry had very quickly learned how to use the game cube. His favourite game was Tales of Symphonia. He loved Lloyd. Lloyd being Lloyd was the only thing that stopped him from drinking a gallon of bleach and killing himself years ago.

When it had come out he had purchased Dawn of the New World. He was rather upset that Lloyd was the villain at the start of the game but he played all the way through and was glad that Lloyd was being Lloyd at the end. Even if he was being a complete douche canoe.

Since he had started playing he had imagined various characters from Symphonia standing by him and being with him while he was doing chores and going through his life. The most common one being Lloyd. He never imagined Marta though. She was clingy and annoying.

One day his Lloyd had asked him 'why don't you just run away?'

So he did.

He had run and run until he found somewhere to spend the night. It was an old abandoned warehouse. It didn't even have any shelving.

That night he had imagined his friends around him, comforting him.

When he woke in the morning he couldn't have been more shocked. He was wrapped up snugly in Lloyd's jacket and all thirty five of his imaginary friends where settled around the room.

Kratos, Yuan and Regal where seated by the door. Richter was sitting as far away as he could get without being in the corner with Emil snuggled into one side and Aster on the other. Raine was sitting with Genis snuggled into one side and Colette snuggled into the other. Presea was sitting near to Genis. Lloyd was sitting next to Harry, looking down at him and asleep at the same time. Zelos was lying flat out on the floor, Sheena was sitting on the other side of the room looking fed up and glaring at Zelos. Ratatosk was sitting in the middle of the room with his eight centurions cuddled around him in human form. The thirteen other summon spirits were also settled around the room in human form. Corinne was curled up against Verius.

Raine, Regal, Aster, Kratos and Yuan had talked about how they had all gotten there for a while before coming to the conclusion that they had been brought to life from Harry's imagination and the strange power he had. They all knew they were copies of a character in a game but they didn't care. They may be copies but from the moment they were created they were their own person, much like Emil being completely different from Ratatosk even though they used to be the same person.

All of them had taken to training the six year old in anything they could. Harry was now trained in swordsmanship with dual swords (by Lloyd), a broad sword (by Kratos and Ratatosk), a short sword and daggers (by Zelos) and a reverse grip blade (By Emil). Regal had taught him hand to hand combat, Presea and Richter taught him how to use an axe, Raine taught him healing spells, Genis had taught him elemental magic, Sheena taught him flexibility, karate and meditation.

Harry was no longer the weedy, underweight twig he had been when he first entered the warehouse. He was tall, well built, strong and confident.

Finding out about his power had helped.

It was shortly after his friends had been brought into existence. He was walking around London when he had spotted a pub no one was looking at. He found it curious and had wandered inside. The nice man behind the bar had given him a meal and opened the door in the back for him. He had discovered a whole new world in there. An entire alleyway hidden from view. It was full of magic things.

He had figured a good place to go would be the bank. He would need to create certificates for all his new friends. He had no idea how to do that but he figured the bank would be a good place to start. When he had given his name to the teller he was immediately shipped off into a back room.

It turned out his family was stinking rich. Go figure.

So anyway, he had signed some emancipation documents, moved into one of his houses with his friends and the bank had created false documents for everyone. Regal had quickly rebuilt his company from nothing, although he had to give it a different name.

Sheena had become the queen on the underworld.

Not in the literal sense of course.

She had gone around through all the criminals in the streets on London and had made a network similar to what she had with the ninja of Mizuho but criminals and not ninjas. They were all afraid of her, if anything went down, she was the first to hear about it.

Aster became a scientist again and he and Raine worked in the best lab in London. Richter was happier not working.

Genis was enrolled in the best school in Britain and Kratos was teaching Lloyd how not to be an idiot.

Lloyd eventually managed to escape by getting a job as a blacksmith. Since he created authentic swords and armour people went to him for all their fantasy weapons needs. He had a surprisingly large clientele.

Zelos decided to be a model and fashion designer although no one suspected any different. He became very famous very quickly.

Presea was happy just doing little wood carvings that Lloyd sold in his shop.

They had settled into a nice little routine when it was all thrown to pieces by this woman, currently sitting on the chair across from Harry with her mouth wide open.

Richter rolled his eyes. "Close your mouth."

The woman snapped her jaw shut and cleared her throat. "Um... I see... I... um... wasn't..." she shook her head. "I wasn't expecting you to look like that, or to be so powerful you can maintain the existence of this many beings all at once."

Harry grinned and Raine smirked before explaining. "Well, even though Harry created us, he doesn't supply the magic for us to live. We are, for all intents and purposes, fully alive as if we had been born into this world. We each have our own magical signature and survive just as any other being does."

The woman looked shocked for a long time before she pulled herself together. "Well... that is incredibly advanced magic."

Harry shrugged.

...

...

35 people. To be more precise, two angels, a half-angel, two chosens, three half-elves, four humans, eight centurions, fourteen summon spirits, one man made summon spirit and one fabrication of a summon spirit. To be even more precise,

The two angels were Kratos Aurion and Yuan Ka-fai

The half angel was Lloyd Irving

The three half-elves were Genis and Raine sage and Richter Abend

The six humans were Sheena Fujibayashi, Regal Bryant, Presea Combatir, Aster, Colette Brunel and Zelos Wilder

The eight centurions were Ignus, Aqua, Ventus, Lumin, Glacius, Solum, Tenebrae and Tonitrius,

The thirteen Summon spirits were Efreet, Undine, Sephie, Fairess, Yutus, Luna, Aska, Celsius, Volt, Shadow, Gnome, Ratatosk and Verius,

The man made summon spirit was Corinne

The fabrication of a summon spirit was Emil Castagnier.

...

...

Raine train under Poppy

Kratos and Yuan teach defence

Richter apprentices under Ancient runes teacher

Regal teaches Business management and life skills

Zelos co-teaches life skills with Regal

Sheena teaches Gymnastics and work with Flitwick in duelling club

Lloyd, Genis, Presea, Colette, Emil, Aster, Ratatosk, centurions and summon spirits get de-aged to 11 and attend with Harry.

Gryffindor - Lloyd Irving, Ratatosk Castagnier, Ignis Blaze, Lumin Sol, Efreet Blaze, Aska Sol, Sephie Sylph

Hufflepuff - Colette Brunel, Emil Castagnier, Tonitrius Bolt, Solum Terra, Luna Sol, Fairess Sylph, Kaolin Terra

Ravenclaw - Genis Sage, Aster Castagnier, Tenebrae Ebony, Ventus Sylph, Celsius Snow, Undine Waters

Slytherin - Presea Combatir, Harry Potter, Glacius Snow, Aqua Waters, Yutus Sylph, Shadow Ebony, Volt Bolt

...

Sorting, alphabetical

Efreet Blaze

Ignis Blaze

Colette Brunel

Aster Castagnier

Emil Castagnier

Ratatosk Castagnier

Presea Combatir

Tonitrius Current

Volt Current

Tenebrae Ebony

Shadow Ebony

Lloyd Irving

Harry Potter

Genis Sage

Celsius Snow

Glacius Snow

Aska Sol

Lumin Sol

Luna Sol

Fairess Sylph

Sephie Sylph

Yutus Sylph

Ventus Sylph

Gnome Terra (need to find new name for Gnome)

Solum Terra

Aqua Waters

Undine Waters


	15. unnamed HP Story

Story name: unnamed

Genre: Romance

Rating: T/M (depending on how explicit i get

Category: Harry Potter (with many references)

* * *

Severus looked at harry. "Are you sure, Harry? This date? You don't want to go back far enough to save your godfather?"

Harry sighed. "As much as I want too I know some things can't be changed. Getting us to then is going to be strained enough but we can't afford to wait any later. That was the turning point in the war." And Harry was right. The date in question was during the summer after his fifth year. The death eaters had attacked the burrow. Fred had managed to apparate away with Harry but George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charley, Remus and Alistair had died.

Not even a week later Severus was ousted as a spy and was in a coma in the hospital wing when Albus went to find the gaunt family ring. Without Severus there to help him, Albus died within an hour of arriving back at Hogwarts.

As it turned out when Severus regained consciousness a few days later he was able to tell everyone that Voldemort hadn't made any horcrux's. It was all a ruse to lead them on a wild goose chase.

This was six years ago. Harry and Severus were the only two left alive, fighting for the light. Harry had come across a rather obscure old book while he was wandering through his bank vaults a few weeks ago. It turns out that one of his ancestors was researching time magic. He had perfected it up to five years but after that each month put a strain of the caster. By the time Harry and Severus would get everything ready the strain to go far enough back to save Sirius would be too much.

Harry double checked his makeup and made sure his wig was on straight before charming it to stay put. He stood up, not even fazed by the huge heels and looked at Severus. "I have to get the last few ingredients for the ritual. I trust you can get everything set up here?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course, Lilyanna. You get the ingredients, I'll get things ready. If you don't contact me in ten minutes I'm coming to get you."

Harry rolled his eyes and rested a finger against the ring on his left hand. "I'll keep in contact the whole time, you know that." He activated the charms on his earing that would let him and Severus communicate over long distance and activated the charm on his ring that would let Severus know his state of health by looking at the colour of a cloud of smoke in the glass ball on a matching ring on his own hand.

When the war started to get bad harry had taken to hiding by disguising himself as a woman named Lilyanna 'Anna' Aurion. Harry then died Severus' hair red, charmed his eyes a red/brown and told him his cover name was Kratos Aurion. Severus didn't get the reference but knew that no pureblood would recognise two characters from a muggle videogame.

After harry got the last few ingredients for the ritual he made sure he had everything he could need when back in time. Assuring himself he had everything he went back to where he and Severus were staying. Two days later harry was back in his normal clothes, Severus back to his normal appearance and both of them carrying a spelled bag around their neck.

The ritual was long and they both gasped at the drain on their magic when it finished. The world spun out of control and harry closed his eyes. He felt a jarring thud and opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling of his old room at the Dursleys.

He stood up and took stock of himself. He was wearing the same clothes he had on when he cast the spell. His body was the same as it should be though. Harry sighed, looks like he will have to go on that nutrient potion again.

He pulled out his earing and ring and called Severus. He sighed happily when the response was immediate. "Hey, Sev."

"Harry. How are you? Did you land okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just upset that I'm a scrawny git again. I'm gonna have to have those nutrient potions."

"I'll get started on them… looks like we arrived two days early. You have until tomorrow before you get taken to the burrow. I'll try and help but I'm not sure what I could do without blowing my cover."

Harry sighed. "We'll do what we always do. Keep moving forward."

"Step by step."

"Moment by moment."

"Alright Harry. I'm going to get started on those potions. You do what you need to."

Harry nodded even though Severus couldn't see him. "I will need to speak to my aunt about moving home. They can't stay here for long."

Severus sighed. "Do you have to? You know that if the death eaters don't kill them, I will."

Harry shook his head. "No killing. I'll see you in a few days."

"Sure. Keep your rings on, just disable the charms on the earring."

"Yeah, will do. Stay safe."

"You too."

Harry disabled the charms on the earing so Severus would no longer be able to hear everything he said and stretched. He activated the charms to make both the earring and the ring on his finger invisible to everyone but him and Severus.

The conversation with his aunt was gruelling to say the least. It wasn't until he pulled out the dead to the property and told them they were officially evicted from the property and had three days to move out that they actually started to take him seriously. Harry had been delighted the first time round when he found out that he owned the whole of privet drive.

Harry looked around the house and packed his things up, making sure not to leave anything there. Anything that didn't fit in his trunk went into his charmed bag. He was very happy to discover some of his mother's thing in the attic and carefully put all of them in his bag. Petunia was getting none of it.

Sure enough, at dinner the next day several order members showed up to escort Harry to the burrow.

The next evening found Harry pacing in the burrow kitchen window. He activated the charms on his earing so Severus cold hear him. Any minute now…

BOOM!

Harry pulled out his wand and the sword of Gryffindor and leant against the wall next to the window. "Get back up, their breaking the wards!"

A shock of light shot through the window. Harry cursed. "They put up anti-apparation wards!" another flash of light. "Shit. Portkeys are out." Harry fired a shot out the window just as Alistair came into view. It hit the death eaters who turned around to face the scarred old Auror.

Mad-eye managed to jump past the ward boundary and ran up to the house, firing spells at his back the whole way. Harry smiled. One life saved.

Mad-eye burst through the door and shut it behind him. Harry smirked. "Nice of you to join the party."

Mad-eye looked askance at harry and noticed his positioning. "Thanks for the backup, Potter."

Harry inclined his head. "Welcome." He turned and fired a volley of spells out the window. "Anyone else coming?" he called.

"No." Arthur's voice came from the living room. "They blocked off the floo too."

Harry cursed. "Bill, take their wards down, before they have a chance to reinforce them."

Bill nodded and set to work removing the anti-escape wards.

There was a deafening boom and the house shook. "Shit. They took out the wards." Harry glanced over at the others. There was no way he was letting them die this time.

"_Harry, what are you planning?_" came Severus' voice over the earring.

Harry smirked and whispered. "You know me, Sev, one part brave, three parts fool."

"_Harry, if you do something stupid I swear I will kill you._"

Harry smirked and leapt out the shattered window, firing spell after spell at the death eaters. He dropped six before a spell smashed into him from the side. Harry screamed as the pain of the crutiatus rippled through him. He grit his teeth and shot a spell at the one holding the curse and sighed when the spell instantly lifted.

There was a familiar crack and a cry of 'SECTUMSEMPRA!' before Harry caught sight of Severus behind the death eaters. His surprise attack meant he was able to take out nine before they recovered enough to fight back. By then harry and mad-eye, with the help of whoever was firing out the windows, were firing a volley down and keeping most of them facing away from Severus.

Harry dodged a spell from one death eater but this inadvertently put him in the path of a spell being aimed at mad-eye. The spell hit him straight in the chest and he blacked out.

When Harry opened his eyes he found himself staring at the ceiling of the infirmary at Hogwarts. He sat up and rubbed his head.

He got out of bed and found his charmed bag still around his neck. His wand and glasses were on the bedside table he quickly put his glasses on and went to look for the others. He didn't have to go far as the entire order was seated on various beds of the infirmary, disusing things.

Harry smirked. "Hey. What happened?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. Poppy was the first to recover. "Well, Mr. Potter. After you were hit Alistair managed to get you to safety. Everyone got out alive but there were some injuries…"

Harry nodded and looked around. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where's Professor Snape?"

Poppy looked from side to side for a moment. "Severus was hit with a spell I don't recognise… it's killing him. You-Know-Who himself hit him."

Harry tilted his head to one side. "Is there any way to remove the spell?"

Poppy shook her head. "It would take too long to find out what it is and remove it. He would be dead by then."

Harry crossed his arms and glared at his feet as he thought. "What if he were to have some kind of protection against old snake faces magic?"

Poppy hummed. "That might work… but we would first need to find someone with a resistance already…"

Harry raised one hand and pointed at himself. "Exhibit A."

Poppy chuckled. "Well, that's all well and good but we still need to find a way of sharing that protection with Severus."

Harry nodded. "What ways are there to share magic or protections?"

Dumbledore hummed. "Adoption."

"No. I'm not old enough to adopt him and the protection wouldn't pass on otherwise."

"Magical transfusion?"

"No. That requires his magic being nearly drained dry first. There is no telling what that spell will do should that happen."

"Blood transfusion."

"Same problem."

Dumbledore hummed again. "The only other thing I can think of at the moment is marriage."

Harry narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to one side. "Fine. Keep him alive until I get back. I need to go to Gringotts."

Dumbledore frowned. "You can't go down diagon ally, Harry. It's too dangerous."

Harry rolled his eyes and stepped into the bathroom. He quickly got his woman outfit on and stepped out of the bathroom. He raised his voice to sound more like a woman and smiled, tilting his head to one side. "Is this better?"

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. Ron blinked. "Is that… really you, Harry?"

Harry giggled and nodded. "Yup. A soldier must make full use of all his skills. Since I have been endowed with great beauty," Harry flip a bit of hair over his shoulder. "Why not use it?"

Remus shuddered. "Please just get out of that outfit as soon as you can, it's disturbingly attractive."

Harry laughed and quickly made his way out of the hospital wing. When he got to Gringotts he quickly spoke to both his account manager and Severus', explaining the situation and how he wanted a marriage contract set up. He also told silvertongue, the goblin in charge of his accounts, to do a full audit and reverse any and all transactions from his account that was not his getting money at the start of the school year or anything happening from his parent's wills.

He returned to Hogwarts and quickly got changed. When he got back Severus was sitting up in a bed in the main room. Harry quickly got him to sign the documents giving him control of the prince estates and heritage. The documents disappeared seconds after he finished signing them.

While he was signing them, Harry signed the emancipation documents.

After that was done they both signed the betrothal contracts and turned to the headmaster.

"Albus?" Severus croaked.

The headmaster looked at the two of them. "Are you sure you want to do this, my boys? There is no going back."

Harry nodded. "We're sure. Sev and I have been in a relationship for the past year anyway."

Everyone stared at them in shock. Severus smirked. "We're good actors aren't we?" he croaked.

Harry nodded. "And Remus, don't worry. He hasn't done anything. He made me promise not to try until I was seventeen. I'm guessing I'm released from that obligation now?"

Severus chuckled. "Yes. We will need to consummate the marriage anyway."

Harry grinned.


	16. Dawn of the Dragons, time travel story

You groaned silently as stared into the darkness. You hoped Medea's spell had worked properly and sent you back in time and not caused some kind of irreparable damage. Not that you had anything to lose. You lost the war and all your friends that hadn't come with you into the crypt. Even two of those that had.

"_Devin?_"

"_Solus?_" You thought back. You got the mental equivalent of a nod before your vision cleared up. You tried to move your eyes and found you couldn't. It was a second before you realised you were looking through Solus' eyes. "_Where are you_?" Even as you asked it you recognised the room. You could never forget it.

"_In the egg chamber. What happened? Last thing I remember was Xekara killing me_." He looked around for a moment. "_Now I'm a whelp again. I only just hatched. Devin..._"

"_I know. Medea used a spell to send me back in time. I was supposed to be sent back to the day we met but something went wrong I think. You weren't supposed to come back and since you're in the egg chamber then we came back too far_."

Solus nodded and carefully made his way out of the egg chamber. Thankfully Belarius was still asleep so he was able to sneak past him. It was a long and tense few hours before Solus finally made his way out of the underground chambers. As he took to the sky you both breathed a sigh of relief.

By unspoken mutual agreement you had not spoken a word throughout except for warnings and silent expletives.

"_So, what now_?" Solus asked.

You mentally shrugged. "_Why don't you come to Burden's Rest? We can speak in person and sort all of this out. How far back do you reckon we are_?"

Solus shrugged. "_I don't know._" He watched the landscape fly past below him and flew on towards you. Neither of you were sure how he knew where you were. "_What does it look like where you are?_"

You sent a mental shrug again. "_I don't know. I'm looking through your eyes. I think I'm unconscious, or, my body is at least._"

Solus growled slightly and snapped his teeth. You smile at his show of worry and send a mental hug along with your feelings of appreciation and love.

You travel together for several days before you regain feeling in your own body. "_Ah! I think I'm waking up_."

Solus rumbles happily. "_Good. If this strange mental connection ends then I hope you are well. I should not be too much longer. I will be with you soon._"

"_I know. I will see you properly in a few days_." You focused your attention on your body and wince. "_It feels like I'm being hit with lightning._"

Solus rumbled with equal parts amusement and concern and you focus on trying to wake up. You are suddenly aware of your body and what is around you. Your connection with Solus is in the back of your mind, a constant steady presence that somehow keeps you grounded. You hear a woman crying. There are low voices murmuring something.

You crack and eye open and see your mother at your bedside, lying on your chest, crying. You had never seen her cry before and you hope you never will again. You see Roland standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder and the village healer standing at the end of your bed, head down and speaking softly to Mayor Tullian.

You gently close both hands and realize one is being held by someone. Your mother sat up suddenly and you realize she was the one holding your hand. "Devin!" she cried and launched forwards to pull you into a hug.

You cough weakly and tentatively wrap your arms around her. You look at the completely shocked looks the mayor and the healer are giving you and turn to Roland with a raised eyebrow.

He smirked. "Welcome back to the living, kid." You tilt your head slightly. "You and the other kids were playing some kind of game. They were chasing you, pretending you were an ogre. They beat you pretty bad. I found you bleeding out on the floor and brought you here." He jerked his head at the healer. "This one said you wouldn't make it but tried his damned best to save you anyway. You were almost completely gone just now as far as we could tell."

You chuckled. "It'll take more than that to kill me." Now you remember. The spell sent you back during a game. You managed to fight back against the other children a bit and they hit at you harder than they normally would since you were fighting back. You remember getting wounded badly and a strong pair of arms cradling you as they carried you off before you lost consciousness. "Thanks."

Roland nodded. He turned and left, waving over his shoulder. "Well, now I know you're okay I can rest easy." The door shut behind him and you smiled. You had always liked Roland. Even as a kid. He seemed to have a soft spot for you too. You had often found yourself in his back room, hiding out from the other kids when they were chasing you.

Your mother pulled back and looked at you. You smiled and bore with her gushing affection. She honestly had been worried about you and this made you feel strangely warm, but also a bit guilty as you hadn't thought of her once during your travels. You didn't even know if she survived the attack on Burden's Rest.

Once she had finished assuring herself you were alive the healer pushed her aside so he could examine you properly. You noticed a number of bruises and cuts along your chest and arms and assumed your legs were just as bad. They were of little consequence though. The big wound was on the side of your head. One of the boys had a plank of wood with a nail in it.

Once he was sure of your regaining health he stepped to the side and bustled off to deal with a farmhand who had just come in with a pitchfork in his foot.

You look at Mayor Tullian and smiled slightly. He smiles at you. "You had us worried lad. The kids have all been told what they did to you and they're all a bit shaken by it. I suppose most of them will be by to apologize soon, now that we know you're okay."

You nod and smile slightly, leaning back into the bed, strangely drained just being awake this long. The healer looked over. "If you're tired, go back to sleep. You need to rest."

You looked to your mother who gave you watery smile and bade you goodnight. As you slip off to sleep you think to Solus. "_You'll like my mother._"

Solus rumbled back. "_You already met my parents, I believe._"

You chuckled and slipped off to sleep.

When you next wake up, its morning and the village healer is doing his rounds. You take better stock of yourself now and realize you're about eight years old. "_We came back further than I thought._"

"_How far?_"

"_Well, I'm about eight now. So... ten years or so?_"

Solus kicked at a pebble on the path through the trees... "_Really? That's a bit far._"

You nodded slightly and smiled as the healer checked you over. You answered his question and mentally chuckled as Solus rounded a bend and came across a group of mounted soldiers. He nodded to them and slipped past, keeping an eye on them as he did.

One of them actually leaned towards another and asked. "Why isn't it flying?"

Solus turned to him and raised a wing. "My wings got tired." He carried on walking and broke into a jog when he got past them. The both of you were laughing madly in your minds, not allowing yourself to make a noise out loud. "_Did you see their faces_?"

You chuckled. "_Yes. I believe you will be the talk of the next tavern they go to._" You managed to get yourself under control enough to not arouse suspicion and the healer gave you some breakfast and told you to rest. Your school teacher came by not long later with some books for you to read. You grimaced and whined but were glad for something to do. Really you didn't mind studying. While you did rely heavily on Lucian's knowledge during your travels you did find it hard to follow the simplest of his conversations, when you would have found it much easier had you paid attention in school.

You read the books, making sure Solus heard so he could gain a better understanding of human history and society. Most of it was actually very easy since you had already done this once before.

Your mother came by around noon but had to leave soon after to get back to the store. She had been by this morning but you had been asleep.

Both you and Solus were very bored for the next few days. The seemingly endless stream of children coming to apologize for nearly killing you had amused you both at first but it got tired after a while. You read all the books your teacher gave you to read and were slightly surprised by how much you learned from them, showing just how little you had paid attention the first time round.

Finally you were released from the Healers home and were shooting out the door faster than anyone had any right to move at. Moving as stealthily as anyone can you sneak into the forest and make your way through the trees. You pounce on Solus as soon as he comes into view and you spend the next few hours just reaffirming your bond and relishing in each other's company.

Soon enough you have to leave and after one final scratch to Solus' eye ridge you make your way back to the village. You find a large group of other children easily enough and thankfully it's the ones you remember hanging around with the most as a child.

You rush up and they welcome you with open arms. Soon enough you are in the midst of some game or other. You can't play for long though, as parent's soon come around to bring children in for the evening. You make your way home and melt into the hug from your mother. It had been far too long since you had felt this love. Sadly, the next day was a school day and after dinner you were sent to bed to rest after your 'horrible ordeal'. Honestly, you'd had worse. The wounds you got from the purple orcs and quilladrians were bad enough, coupled with what you got from- no. you weren't going to think about that...

You wake in the morning feeling refreshed. You give a quick morning greeting to Solus and head downstairs. After a quick breakfast you head off to school, dragging your feet like usual. Just because you want to learn everything you can, doesn't mean you actually _want_ to go to school.

You get there just in time and file in with your friends. You make sure Solus is paying attention to your class. If you have to suffer through it, so does he. Surprisingly he doesn't seem to mind and is fascinated on how humans educate their young.

"_It's strange that you leave all the education to one person. Among dragons teaching the young is usually up to the parents or is done by several members of a thunder._"

"_A thunder_?"

"_A group of dragons._"

"Devin, are you paying attention?"

You look up at the teacher. Normally she would be glaring at anyone not paying attention in class but this time she is looking at you with concern. You smiled slightly. "Yes ma'am."

She hummed. "Are you sure you're okay to be here?"

You nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Fully recovered."

Madam Sayla nodded. "Then perhaps you won't mind telling me what we were talking about just now?"

"Me paying attention?" You answer cheekily. At her slight glare you sigh slightly. "Just trying to add some humor. We were covering the Iulian empire."

She nodded and went back to lecturing. At break one of your friends confronts you. "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well?"

You grimaced. "If I had I would have spent the rest of today and probably tonight at the healers. I just want things to go back to normal."

She grimaced and nodded. "Right. I understand. Anyway, what do you want to do?"

You shrugged and let your friends lead the games. It seemed strange that you could play these games again. They had all lost the element of fun they had as a kid. You don't see the world the same way you did before. After school you spent a while playing chase with your friends and delighted I being able to jump easily over small walls or other obstacles.

Eventually you were able to slip away and went out to the forest to see Solus. He had gone hunting while you were with your friends and had already eaten. At least you never had to worry about your friend starving. You spent a while together before you headed back out. It was a shame you couldn't let anyone know about him. It meant you would barely get any time together.

Over the next few weeks you steadily got used to being a kid again and Solus grew much faster than he had the first time around. Over that time (much to your delight) people began to forget about your injury, despite the scar being quite obvious. A lot of your free time was spent trying to emulate the tricks Rissa did during your many adventures. You started small, with forward rolls and cartwheels.

Finally it was the weekend again and you and your friends were playing. One of them suggested a mud war and so you found one of the unused fields and set to throwing mud at each other. Thanks to your training you were able to avoid any mud thrown at you by 'the enemy'. Soon enough all your friends had turned on you and you were leaping and ducking around mud bombs from all sides.

Finally they gave up and begged you to teach them how to do that.

And thus you began to teach all the children in the village to move around like a gnome thief. You had yet to decide if this was a good thing.

.o.O.o.

Two years after you had come back you were standing at the edge of the forest just looking over the village. You sighed and walked further into the forest. The town guard had been attacked by a group of bandits. Three of them hadn't survived their injuries.

Most everyone had the day off today and tomorrow to morn. You walked further into the forest, following the now well worn, but hidden, trail. It was only a few moments before you came into the clearing and found your target. You walk over and sat next to him, handing him a pie.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

He sniffled. "Why? You didn't do it."

You nodded and glanced over at Ogen before staring ahead again. "It's just an expression." You're both silent for a moment before you speak again. "I never knew my dad. He died when I was a baby. I don't know what kind of man he was, or what kind of person he wanted me to be. Mum tells me about him but all I have is stories. I never knew him." You turn to face him. "You have a lot of good memories of your dad. You know who he was and who he wanted you to be. You have something to strive to be. You can do him proud and know you did. I'll never know if my dad is proud of me."

Ogen looked at you and sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "What?"

You smiled gently. "Cry because he's gone, but once you've done that, be happy for what you had with him. Be happy for the life he led. Celebrate the life you had together and try to grow into the man he would want you to be. Remember the happy times and smile because you knew him and know he's watching you from the heavens."

Ogen smiled slightly for a moment before he burst into tears. You gathered him into your arms, making sure the pie didn't get crushed or dirty as you did so, and held him while he cried. Solus watched from the trees where he was hidden as Ogen had run right into his clearing.

Once your friend had cried himself out, he pulled back and you gently cleaned his face with a clean handkerchief and held out the pie again. The both of you spent the next few hours just sitting and eating the pie your mother had baked while Ogen told you stories of things he had his dad had done.

Ogen finally just sighed. "The one thing dad had always wanted to do was take me to see a dragon. I know it's stupid but I really want to see one and dad always promised to take me to see one."

You glance over at the trees and look at Solus. He nods and you turn back to Ogen. "Can you keep a secret? Like a massive, life changing, if you tell anyone it would put everyone in danger kind of secret."

Ogen looked at you strangely. "Yeah."

You nodded and pointed behind the both of you. He turns slightly and gaped as Solus carefully made his way between the trees and back into the clearing. You note (not for the first time) that you are going to have to either cut some trees down or find a bigger clearing. Ogen breathes a huge sigh or awe. "Is that?"

You nod. "That's Solus. He's mine. He hatched two years ago and came all the way here from half way across West Kruna just for me. I'm his rider." You stand up and dust yourself down. "Want to ride him?"

Ogen nodded. "Yes!" he jumped to his feet and dusted off his trousers.

You picked up your mother's tea towel and pocketed it before moving over to Solus. Since it had been two years since you met, as opposed to the few months you had the first time, he is a lot bigger. You easily climb up onto the top of his foreleg and offer your hand to Ogen. He takes it cautiously and you then climb onto Solus' back and again offer your hand to Ogen.

Once the both of you are secure Solus takes off, thankful for the ridge at the forest edge giving him enough room to clear the trees without being seen. You hold tightly to Ogen and make sure he doesn't fall off. He is ecstatic and holds both hands in the air before letting out a loud whoop.

Once Solus lands again you help Ogen off and he stands on the floor a moment just trying to get his feet used to the floor again. He looked up at you. "Thanks Devin."

You nodded. "You can't tell anyone, okay? If the wrong people hear about this they'll burn the whole village down."

Ogen nodded. "I know. I won't say a word. Promise."

You stare at him for a moment and nodded. "Come on. Let's get back, before people start to wonder where we are and send a search party."

Ogen nodded. "Okay. Bye Solus." Solus rumbled back and the two of you leave the clearing and head back to the village. Ogen looked sideways at you. "You know, I feel a lot better now. Thanks. You're right. I need to be glad for what time dad and I had together. Besides, I have to be strong for mum."

You nodded. "Seeing you mom cry is one of the worst things you could ever see."

Ogen tilted his head. "When has your mom ever cried? She's one of the most ferocious people I know."

You smiled. "You remember two years ago, when I nearly died?" he thought for a moment before glancing at the scar on your head and nodded. "She cried then. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up."

Ogen grimaced. "Right." you travel in silence for a minute or two before he looks at you. "What's it like, not having a dad?"

You shrugged. "I don't know. I've got nothing to compare it too. I don't know what it's like having a dad so I can't tell you what it's like without one."

He nodded and you travel in silence until you get to his house. You give him a one armed hug and see him through the door before heading home. You wash up the tea towel and start on some cleaning around the house. Your mother walked in, leaning against the door frame. "Devin, you're back."

You looked up and smiled. "Yeah. How are you doing?"

She smiled. "I'm fine. Just a touch of the flu. I'll survive."

You smiled. "I know. Why don't you go back to bed, I'll fix you something."

She nods and smiles gratefully at you before disappearing back into her room. You turn back to the counter and sigh before fixing some soup for your mother. Once she'd eaten you cleaned up all the dishes and went off in search of Timon, the head farmer.

You found him easily enough and manage to persuade him to let you onto the fields to work. You were ten years old now, while still young for field work he understood. With your mother sick it was up to you to provide for the family.

.o.O.o.

Thankfully your mother had only had the flu and had recovered in a week and was back to her normal self. Ogen spent more time practicing with his practice sword than before and the two of you often spent hours at a time training together. You convinced the blacksmith to make you a wooden pitchfork (it's not a pitchfork! It's a quadrant!) and you used it against Ogen's wooden sword. You beat him every time but he was improving with every fight. The other kids all joined in and soon the blacksmith had made a decent sum of money selling training swords and 'quadrants' among a few other weapons.

By the time the next year rolled around everyone was much better at swordsmanship since they were determined to beat you and you kept thrashing everyone with both your pitchfork and your sword. Surprisingly, at the turn of the new year, the blacksmith and the mayor had gathered a group of the teens together and presented you with actual swords 'On the promise that you not draw them unless in defense of the village'.

It was a promise you all made easily.

That was the start of you and Solus beginning to regain your reputation.

You had been given a mask by the town scout, Scot, and donned a black suit while you flew off on Solus' back. You landed in the neighboring village and took out numerous kobolds. Solus had seen them there with his far sight. It wasn't an organised raid by the dragons, just a bit of senseless violence.

The village was in awe of Solus and you made sure everyone knew his name, though you just referred to yourself as 'The Dragon-Rider'.

Word spread soon enough about a dragon rider and you smirked every time it was mentioned. You and Ogen often traded knowing glances but surprisingly he didn't say anything. You were sure the temptation would get to him eventually. It was a few days later that he pulled you aside.

"Devin, you need to think about telling some more people."

You looked at him in question. "Why?"

"This is going to get out eventually, someone will see Solus, he's getting really big now, or someone will recognize you or something. If no one knows it would be way worse when it comes out. Do like you did with me. Find someone you know you can trust to keep it a secret and tell them and make sure they know they can't talk about it."

You sighed and nodded. "I know. I'm gonna tell my mum soon. She's gonna freak out."

Ogen nodded. "I know. My mum freaked when I told her I wanted to join the town guard. She was crying like I was already dead. She really wanted me to have a much safer job, like working in the fields."

You chuckled. "I don't think that's all that safe. Look at poor Freddie." Freddie being the farmer who had come into the healers while you were there three years ago. He ended up with a permanent limp and had nearly lost his whole foot.

He was such a klutz. He had gone to rest against his pitchfork but had been holding it the wrong way up so instead of stabbing the butt into the ground he'd stabbed the prongs down and he missed the ground and got himself in the foot.

You and Ogen chuckled and you shook your head. "I know. I need to reveal it but I don't really know how." You sighed again. "I'll get to it. I need to tell mum sooner than later."

Ogen nodded. "Want me to be there?"

You shook you head. "Nah, I'll manage." He nodded and you parted ways.

.o.O.o.

The next few months were tense for you as you slowly introduced more people to Solus. The first person was of course your mother who just smiled and said she knew you were going to do great things. She gushed over Solus for a while before berating you for not introducing her to him when he was smaller so she could have seen how cute he was.

The next was Roland who actually fell to the ground laughing. "So much like your father. You just can't blend in can you? Have to be different."

When you introduced him to Solus Tullian the mayor had stared for a long while before turning to you slowly. "His name is Solus?" he asked.

You nodded. "Yes. I named him after you."

Solus rumbled. "It is nice to finally meet my namesake."

The mayor had gotten very teary eyed at that had you had suddenly found the need to retie your boots, while Solus watched a bird fly overhead, to give him a moment to compose himself. He profusely thanked you, for both allowing him to know such a huge secret and naming your dragon after him. "It's such an honour. I don't even know what to say..."

You gently reached up and gripped his shoulder. "Then don't say anything. I can see how much this means to you. You don't have to say anything."

He laughed. "For an eleven year old, you seem far too mature. You really don't act your age."

You smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, but I have Solus so I have to be mature. Besides, after the accident, I've not really felt like a child."

He nodded, immediately knowing what you spoke of. Every time you came across each other he looked up at your scar. His son had been the one to do it. "I see. I'm sorry that my son had to take your childhood from you."

You shook your head. "Don't worry about it."

You also introduced Solus to a number of your closer friends. They all awed over Solus but agreed to keep it a secret.

Gil had been the only one to ask why, but he questioned everything even if he was going to do it anyway.

"If people find out that I'm here, that Solus is here, it'll put a bounty on the village and my head. Bandits and bounty hunters will flock to try to kill me or get revenge for any allies I'll kill. I'm a hero, saving people is what I do so I'm going to make a lot of enemies, and that's only what the enemy will do. I am not ready to fight in the war and if the king's men find out how old I am they might start bringing children into this war."

Gil nodded. "Right. Okay. I won't say anything."

Several weeks later Solus had another vision and you got your suit on and were flying high in the sky to get there. Suddenly the world seemed to blink out of existence beneath you before coming back, several hundred miles from where you left.

You and Solus had circled in the clouds for a moment before you realized that Solus had teleported you that far. You both grinned and felt very accomplished having discovered this power.

.o.O.o.

The next couple of months passed by in a bit of a blur. By this time you had told almost a quarter of the village about Solus but you were wary of mentioning it to almost half. You and all the other children were much more acrobatic than before and the village had started to gain a reputation for it since the kids playing in the village spent as much time jumping from roof to roof as they did running in the streets themselves.

You were sitting on Solus' foot as the two of you relaxed when Solus had another vision. You hopped onto his back immediately and pulled your mask down before you froze. Solus sensed your unease and paused.

"Where did I get my mask from?"

It was a few more weeks before you got an answer. All your weapons and armor (not that you had much) could disappear and reappear at will. This made you very happy as it meant you didn't have to worry about not having the right weapon for the fight or being disarmed in a fight and you didn't have to worry about anyone seeing you with your disguise since you could keep it gone until you needed it.

You were also able to start collecting weapons and armor that people gave you. Most of the armor didn't fit yet but you knew you'd grow into it or sell it later. Your favorite piece though, was a red hood ranger cloak.

_You sat at the bar in the pub of the town you'd just saved. Solus was roaming the nearby countryside for a couple of cows or something as he was quite hungry and he didn't want to eat too much from one place. You sat at a table with a man in a red cloak. He looked you over. "Bit young to be drinking aren't you?"_

"_Only alcoholic stuff. This isn't alcohol." You had promised Roland to let him be the one to serve you your first drink._

_The ranger raised an eyebrow and shrugged. As the evening progressed, you don't know how it got onto the topic, but the ranger was boasting, saying he knew more about the Dragon-Rider than anyone in West Kruna. You smirked and tricked him into making a bet, his cloak for your sword. It was a nice sword and you had never used it as it was too heavy and threw you off balance a bit due to your size._

_He laughed and you shook on the bet before he dared you to name one person that knew more about the dragon-rider than he did. "The Dragon-Rider? Or perhaps his dragon? Maybe his mother?"_

_The ranger stared at you in shock for a moment before spluttering out a few indignant noises. A man leant over from the next table over. "Kid's got you there."_

_The ranger sighed and took his cloak off, passing it to you. You smirked and shook his hand again. "Pleasure doing business with you." you walked out of the pub and didn't bother to hide yourself as you left town. You could tell the ranger was following you, he must be a novice. When you had gotten far enough from the village you stood and waited. Seconds later Solus touched down and you leapt up onto his back, years of practice making the jump easy. As he took off you turned to the ranger and waved before the two of you blinked out of existence for a moment, reappearing back near Burden's Rest._

You and Solus had laughed about it for days after and so had Ogen and Riani when you told them about it.

.o.O.o.

As time passed you watched things change more and more but Solus assured you that things would still be on track at the start of the war.

You were now fifteen and Riani had just spoken to you and Gil about sneaking into The Plundered Dungeon to get your first drink.

You smiled fondly at the memory of when this had happened in the original timeline. Things happened a bit differently this time around.

You sat waiting on the roof, looking down at Riani as she waited. She huffed in impatience and looked around. Finally Gil showed up. She looked him over and huffed. "What the hell are you wearing? I told you to bring a mask!"

"This is a mask."

"It's a pair of shorts! This is a mask!" she tugged at the cloth over her face.

"Well we don't all 'ave bandits for dads."

"He's not a bandit! He's a scout!" she snorts and turns away.

Gil looks around. "Where's Devin?"

"I told him to meet us here. With a _mask_."

"This is a-"

"Shh. You'll wake the farmers." You hiss and drop off the roof. "Now if you're both done arguing over what constitutes a mask or not, I've been sitting on that roof for the past half an hour. My ass is cold. Can we go?"

Riani looks at you. "What is that?"

You smirked. "A Red Hood Ranger's cloak. Won it in a bet."

Gil grinned. "Cool."

You smirked. "Come on, let's go."

Together the three of you sneak across the fields and into the town. You creep around moonlit buildings, pressing up against cool walls, peering round corners and looking into shadows but there's no need for caution. Everyone in the village is asleep at this time.

You reach The Plundered Dungeon without meeting anyone and you head around to the backdoor. Riani reaches for the door handle and you all glance at each other. She gently pushes the door and it opens. "Told you he never locks it." she whispered. She steps inside and holds the door. "Hurry!" Gil slips in after her and you silently follow. The door clicks shut behind you. You look around the shadowy room you could navigate in your sleep. It looks so much different in the dark.

As you walk through the room Gil stumbles into something and stifles a cry.

Riani looks sharply at him. "Careful." She looks back. "The tap rooms through here."

As you walk past Gil you feel him grab the neck of your cloak and follow.

A short corridor leads to the tavern's main chamber, where argentine light drifts between the shutters. It sculpts the outlines of round tables, numerous chairs and a long counter. Riani presses a hand to her masked mouth, stifling a giggle. "Too young for a strong drink, are we?" she slides behind the bar and picks up a tankard. Her other hand moves to one of the taps on a barrel.

You silently groan as a voice answers from the other end of the room. "I'd say so."

Gil squeals and the tankard falls from Riani's hand and clatters on the floor.

"And that goes for all three of you." Roland says. His broad-shouldered frame steps away from the darkness at the bottom of the staircase and passes in front of a shuttered window. Narrow strips of light glimmer on steel.

"Run!" Riani shouts.

She bolts past and pushes you against a table on the way past. Gil squeaks again and runs off, tugging your hood as he did so. You shout after him and turn to run, not really trying to escape.

"Ha!" you feel strong arms wrap around you. You struggled a bit before you were lifted up and carried across the room. Roland set you down on a bar-stool before lowering your hood. You grin sheepishly at him. "Devin. And if I don't miss my guess that was Riani and Gil who just ran out of here like the hounds of hell were after them."

You nodded. "Yeah."

"That desperate for your first ales?"

"Don't tell my mom. She'll-"

"Give you the belting you deserve for breaking into a man's home?"

You sighed slightly. "Yeah." Sometimes you wonder if your mother would be more easy going if your father were still around.

Roland laughed and reached past you, picking up a tankard. "You want a drink so bad? I'll get you one."

He goes to the other side of the bar and while his back is turned you let a smirk across your lips for a second before you school your features and plaster a shocked expression on your face. Roland pours a light beer into the tankard and places it on the bar in front of you. "Here."

You look up at him, wide eyed. "Really?"

You grin and bring the drink up to your lips. You take a sip and start chocking on it, your young body unused to the burn of alcohol. Roland laughed. "See. That's why you should wait until you're old enough."

You clear your throat. "Old enough to kill, old enough for all the fun stuff."

Roland looked sadly at you for a moment and you suddenly wish you could take it back. You instead lift the tankard again and barely avoid coughing at the alcoholic burn. Roland sighed and poured himself a Skullsmash. He always had a barrel even though he was the only one who drank it. You both sit in silence for a moment before you look up at him. "Tell me one of your stories?"

Roland smiled slightly. "Which one?"

"The one where you got Rogar's Dream?"

Roland smiled and sat at the stool next to you, beginning his tale. It had always been one of both your favorites.

By the time he had finished you had both drained your tankards and you knew that if you didn't get home soon you would get no sleep tonight and you were working in the fields tomorrow.

Roland picks up your tankards and goes behind the bar to clean them. "I'll see ya later, Devin."

You walked over to the door. "Yeah. Thanks for the beer... dad." You quickly scarper out of the tavern and leap onto a roof, flying over the buildings and heading home. You jump in through your window and sit down heavily on your bed. "Oh gods..." you bury your face in your hands. "Did I seriously just call Roland 'dad'?"

"_Yes you did._"

"_Not helping, Solus._"

"_Get some sleep._"

You sighed and lay down. Easily falling asleep.

.o.O.o.

It was now a year later and you had just stopped a beastman war band from destroying a large town and were relaxing in a tavern when a little gnome caught your eye. You smirked and snuck up behind her, though you could tell she knew you were there. "I think you should put that back where you found it, dear." You whispered and carried on towards the bar.

She blushed slightly and quickly attached the purse back to the man's belt before coming over to sit next to you at the bar. When she ordered you slid the gold over to the barkeep and his accepted it without a word. Rissa looked sideways at you. "You hoping to get lucky tonight luv?"

You chuckled. "No. But if you were going to be using someone else's money to buy a drink then why not let me buy you one?"

Rissa shrugged. "Well, suppose that makes sense." She looked you over for a moment. "Here, 'old on a bloomin' minute. Are you that Dragon-Rider bloke?"

You nodded. "I am, yes."

"Bloomin heck."

You laughed and spent the rest of the evening with Rissa.

.o.O.o.

You woke up with a warm body curled into your side and winced at your pounding headache. Did you get very drunk last night? Yes. Hang over. Ow. You slowly peel one eye open and close it again when you see the top of Rissa's head nestled into your chest.

It was only moments later you feel her wake up and you tighten your arm around her waist. She stills and you both just lie there for a while before Rissa sighed. "You ever done this 'fore?"

"Never."

"At all?"

"At all. This was my first." Sadly enough that was completely true. You had your eyes on Leo the last time around but she'd died in that barn fire that hadn't happened yet. No one else had caught your interest and you were a bit busy during your adventures and had never been with anyone.

"Oh. Well then..." there was an awkward silence for a moment before she sighed. "Well, least I can boast about being the Dragon-Rider's first then... not that anyone would ever believe me." she propped her chin on your chest and you assumed she was staring intently at you, though you couldn't see since you had your eyes closed still. "You're a lot younger than I thought you'd be."

You nodded slightly. "Yeah. Don't tell anyone about my age. The king's men might start trying to draft children into the war if he finds out."

You felt Rissa nod. "Alright. I won't say anything." She rests her head against your chest again. "You're actually pretty comfy."

You chuckled quietly. "Thank you, I think." You both lie in comfortable silence for a moment.

"_Devin. We need to go._"

You groan. "Ugh. Dragon's calling. I have to go."

Rissa chuckled. "Well then, Dragon-Rider, I'll see ya round."

You nodded and opened your eyes, slipping out of bed and getting dressed. You ignored the pounding in your head as you pull all your clothes on and quietly slip from the room. Your mask had still been on that morning but knowing Rissa she had taken it off while you were asleep.

.o.O.o.

Your mother had given you an earful when you finally got back. And Roland, though you only mentioned to him that you had shared the room with a woman, not wanting to know what your mother would say. You then spent several hours in Roland's back room getting 'the talk'. It was something you never wanted repeated. You could also have done without Roland laughing his ass off when you told him she was a gnome.

He was suitably apologetic when he realized you were serious before laughing again about how your first time had been with a gnome.

Strangely enough it was only a few days later you were approached by Leo. Seeing her standing in front of you, blushing was something you had never thought to see again. You ended up asking her round for dinner and she blushed heavily before accepting and rushing off. You then realized you hadn't introduced her to Solus yet.

"_Is she your mate?_"

"_No, dear heart. She's not. But I want her to be._"

"_How do human's court one another? Like you and Rissa?_"

You blushed slightly and headed back out to the fields. "_No, Solus. Not like me and Rissa._" You then spent a good few hours telling Solus how human's 'courted' one another.

That afternoon you spent a long time preparing food for Leo. You had always liked cooking, since your mother taught you at a young age. '_A woman likes a man who knows his way around a kitchen._'

When Leo showed up you were nervous. This was technically your first date. Several hours later you were walking back home from walking Leo home. The evening had gone very well and you had even gotten a second date out of it. when you got back your mother and Roland were waiting for you and you ended up having to recount the entire evening to them.

.o.O.o.

The rest of the years passed by far too quickly. You got together with Leo when you were seventeen so you both decided to wait a few years before you ask her father for her hand.

A few months later Solus met up with Teresias and he agreed to join you on your quest. He and Solus lived together on the platoe Solus lived on.

By nineteen you heard the king had offered you a citadel. You were honestly surprised as the king hadn't had any contact with you at all and yet was giving you a citadel now when in the last timeline he had passed on a few quests for you and hadn't offered you one even though you had slain several dragons and done more impressive things than this time.

You managed to hire some men to build it and were told it would be finished in a couple of years. After working it out you realized it would be finished just before the start of everything in the original timeline.

As it turned out, when the workers realized they were building the Dragon-Rider's citadel they worked harder than before so even with the extra features (designed to keep out as many kinds of beastmen you could think of) they finished a year early. You paid them for the extra year anyway since they finished so fast.

You were very pleased that owning your own citadel was finally enough to allow Leo's dad to accept your proposal. He hadn't wanted his only daughter to marry a man who could die any day and leave her widowed and penniless.

After the wedding you rode a carriage a short way from the village and then switched to riding Solus. You teleported to the citadel and spent two weeks there on you honeymoon. There weren't many people living in your citedel yet, as you didn't trust many people to not try and kill you so you had most of the place to yourselves.

By this time everyone in Burden's Rest knew about you being the Dragon-Rider since you were now old enough that the kings men wouldn't start drafting children. Those you didn't trust not to say anything were sworn to secrecy by Roland. You didn't know what he did and you figured you were better off not knowing.

.o.O.o.

As you stepped out onto the fields you got a strong sense of déjà vu. Solus rumbled quietly. "_It's today._"

You nodded imperceptibly and set to work on the field. You kept an eye out and smirked when the kobold's showed up. They didn't last long. They had come expecting to find weak, fearful enemies. Instead, four of them met your pitchfork before they realized what was happening. A further three died while trying to understand and two more died trying to retreat. Several of the other farmers had followed your lead. You were further forward than the others so less people were likely to get hurt. You stared down the kobold chieftain as he slew two of his minions and shouted something.

He turned to you and growled. You smirked and lifted your pitchfork, making a bring-it motion with one hand. The kobold charged at you and you jumped over him, impaling him easily. Upon landing you hefted the pitchfork and threw the body at his allies. They screamed and ran, only to meet the blades of the town guard.

Natania looked to you. "They're in the town."

You nod and charge towards the village. You wished Solus were here but he felt he needed to be with Penelope as yesterday was the day she was turned. He was still with her now as she couldn't teleport like he could and didn't know how to fly yet so he was leading her towards Burden's Rest by foot. She was small for a dragon, but too large to be considered a whelp.

You burst into the village and took out several beastmen. You quickly directed the town guard to go round the outside of the village and herd the beastmen inwards and the farmhands to take out any in the square. You look around the village and smirk as everyone around your age or younger is standing on a roof. You can't see any of the children or the enfeebled and assume they are already at the keep.

You charge forwards and smirk at Roland as he leaps out of his pub window. "About time you showed up." you felled two beastmen with the chieftain's sword. "What was keeping you, finishing a drink?"

Roland laughed. "Yes, actually." He killed another. "Haven't seen you in a while. Why don't you stop by tonight?"

You laugh. "Sure. I could do with a drink." You kill three more and press on towards the keep. When you finish with the beastmen you watch the scorpion man place his hand on the egg. His eyes glazed over for a moment before he turned to you. You rush at him and easily evade all his strikes. You cut off his pincer arm and stab him in the head with your pitchfork.

You look at the egg and wave Roland over. "Watch this for me. I'm going to check the keep."

Roland nods distractedly and moves closer to the egg. You head to the keep with several of your men and charge when you see the beastmen inside already. Covering the ground is effortless now and you are all in the room before the doors are even half closed. Taking out the beastmen is an easy task and you charge through the keep. "I'll take the path to the roof. Check the corridors and all the rooms."

You sprint up the spiral staircase, taking out many beastmen on the way and come out on the ramparts. You see Mayor Tullian standing taking on the ogre. He smiles at you and you hurl your pitchfork at the ogre. If flinches his arm back, giving Mayor Tullian time to duck and you charge forward. You plant one foot on the club and another on his forearm. Your sword meets his face before he can react. You kick off as hard as you can and do a back flip in the air to land on your feet. The ogre stumbles backwards and then falls off the ramparts. There is a shout of alarm and you dash forwards in time to see the ogre land where Roland had been seconds before.

Roland looks at the orange dragon in his lap and gently strokes an eye ridge.

You nod in satisfaction and gesture to the mayor to climb onto your back. You carry him back down and meet with all your men on the way down. Once sure the keep is clear you walk out onto the plaza and lay the mayor against the wall of the keep. Many more people bring the injured over and the village healer comes over and starts tending to their wounds.

You walk over to Roland and reach down, helping him to his feet. You gently scratch the whelp's eye ridges and look to him. "What are you going to name her?" she croons under your expert touch and starts to make a sound reminiscent of a cat purring.

Roland looks at the dragon. "I don't know. I'm not sure I'd make a good rider."

You shake your head. "You will be. Besides, she chose you. Nothing will change that. Think about it for a while. Whatever name you give her, it'll stick and she'll be stuck with it for many centuries. Dragons live longer than humans do."

Roland nods slightly and looks back at the whelp. You move away from him and start directing people. You have the stronger men take to bodies of the beastmen out of the village. They pile them up on carts and drag them off. You direct some others to find all the wounded and dead from the village and bring them to the keep. The wounded are sat in the hall (Once the beastmen bodies are moved out) and the dead laid out in rooms upstairs. Family sat around them and mourned.

You take note of the orphans and are glad to see it is significantly less than before and already many of them are being taken in by other parents. Roland's dragon is giving rides to the children, with worried parent's watching on.

You smirk along with Solus as Penelope trips over her wing again.

Several hours later the death toll has been taken and grieving families are upstairs with their loved ones, saying goodbye. You are bandaging up a wounded guard when the guards from Fallows come in. You stand up and move to meet them. "Welcome to Burden's Rest."

The guards looked you over. The lead guard took a step forwards. "You're Devin?"

You nodded. "I am." You reach out to shake his hand. "And you are?"

"Captain Blayden." He explained about being sent to secure Burden's Rest and enlist aid for fallows.

You nod and looked around. Many of your men are here and they all nod to you. You look to the guard. "We will fight with you." The guards nod and don't bat an eyelash when you start directing them to help the men clear the beastmen bodies out of the streets. They do seem surprised to see men running over rooftops and leaping over the main street.

They turn to you and you smirk. "I taught them that."

A woman laughs as she drops down beside them. "You taught us a lot of things Devin. The fields a clear and most of the village is too. We should be done by tonight. I've got some men preparing the graveyard."

You nod. "Good. Let's hope no one else succumbs to their injuries. We've lost far too many today as it is. Thankfully none of the children."

She nods. "It's thanks to you really. If you hadn't got us all running around on roofs then there would be more dead than we have. Most people were out of reach."

You nodded and looked around. "How long until the damage is repaired?"

Another man steps out of the shadows behind you. "A few weeks at most."

You nod. "See that it gets done. The sooner the damage is repaired the sooner everyone can move on." You look over at the ogre. "_Solus, what should I do about the ogre?_"

He thought for a moment. "_I can move it for you. We'll be meeting up with you soon._"

You turn away from the ogre and carry on with what needs to be done. Roland walks up to you, his dragon at his heels. "I think I know what to name her."

You tilt your head and look at him in interest. "Oh?"

He nods. "Yes." He looked down at her. "Alicia."

You nodded and smiled. "It's a good name."

"I think it suits her." Roland nods to you and scratches Alicia's head. He walks over to the ogre. "How are we going to move this lug? All of us could lift him but there's not enough room for us all to get a grip."

You smirked. "Solus will help when he gets back."

.o.O.o.

You make sure your armor is fixed in place before stepping out of your home. You look at Solus as he stands. He had arrived last night with Penelope, without being seen by anyone.

As you walk forwards you nod to Tiresias and Penelope and move towards the village proper. Most people slept in the keep last night but some people went home. Mostly those of you who were leaving tomorrow.

When you get to the keep you see all your men standing and waiting for you. Roland is there with Alicia. You smirk at the guards from Fallows and quickly introduce those coming with you to Penelope. You then introduce all three dragons to Alicia.

After the Fallows guard has pulled themselves together you all head out, the three adult dragons taking to the air. Penelope lands not long later with Solus as she was unsteady on her wings and wasn't comfortable flying for long. She follows along behind the army while Solus walks up front with you. Alicia leaps about his heels and looks up at him. He rumbles and nuzzles her head briefly.

You smirk. "It'll be good for her to have some adults around to guide her."

Roland nods. "So... how did you and Solus meet? You never told us."

You looked to him and sigh. "That's a long story. Involving an elf, The Crypt of Caracalla, the Lost 13th legion of the Iulian Empire, Blue and Purple orcs, losing the war, and ancient scroll and a time travel spell."

He looks to you. "Okay, now I _need_ to here this." You laugh and quietly explain to him about being from the future by several years. "Seriously?" you nod and he looks ahead. "So I wasn't supposed to meet Alicia?"

You shrugged. "If you weren't supposed to meet her than I wouldn't have come back in time. The fates work in mysterious ways. Since Solus and I came back we've already made a difference. Heck, we discovered Solus' ability to teleport so we've already save those orcs."

Roland nods. "Of course you would do that. You're a hero."

You smile. "So are you now. With Alicia by your side you're a dragon-rider now."

Roland looks at you in surprise. "I am at that, aren't I?"

You look up at Tiresias as he flied down. "Trouble up ahead." You nod and leap up onto Solus' back.

Roland sighed and called up. "I won't have to do that one day will I?" Your only answer was to laugh. "Thought so." You and Solus take to the air and you put your helmet on. Time to help Medea.


	17. HTTYD

Name: undecided

Genre: Friendship

Rating: T?

Category: How To Train Your Dragon

* * *

Hiccup blinked away the white spots in front of his eyes and looked around the room. There was a chair covered in some kind of material next to a dip in the floor full of slightly smoking ash and small stones that looked warm to the touch.

His eyes were quickly drawn to a large black shape standing not far from him. Its acid green eyes glared at him and he backpedalled slowly. It followed him. He had never seen anything like it before but the piercing whistle it made as it built a fireball betrayed its identity.

"Nightfury..."

There was a series of barks and growls from off to the side and they both looked over to see a man and a dragon standing side by side in front of a large black shape on the wall. As the dragon spoke to the nightfury it backed down and settled down in the dip, looking down submissively as the man's dragon nodded.

Hiccup looked at the man and his mouth went dry. "Thor..."

The god nodded. "Yes. It is nice to meet you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

Hiccup blinked and felt his chest swell with pride and fear. "You... know my name..."

Thor nodded. "Yes. Now, I have brought you here to watch something. Well, two somethings but we will deal with the first one now and see what happens. Take a seat."

Hiccup nodded and sat down on the chair. It was very comfy, he would have to see about making one like this back at home. "What is it you want me to see, sir?" holy hell, how do you refer to one of the gods?

Thor smirked. "Well, there were a number of events that happened and I want you to see them. This is what would have happened in a few weeks from now had I not shown you what would happen. The other thing is in about five years but we need to deal with this first. So, sit back and enjoy watching your future. Oh! Before I forget, here. let me give you the gift of speech. You will be able to understand dragons now."

Hiccup held his head as he was assaulted with a brief headache and the feeling of something... shifting...

The pain vanished and he looked up at Thor. The god vanished in a bright flash of light, along with the strange purple dragon that had been sparking electricity the entire time. He glanced at the nightfury before his gaze was drawn back to the screen when it showed a picture.

.o.O.o.

"**Was it really necessary to pretend to be Thor and Thunder?"**

"Yes, they would not have listened to us otherwise and I don't want to force them if I can help it." The 'god' looked at the skrill. "We had to. I think the Gods will forgive us for this. It will help them out after all."

The skrill nodded and turned back to the one way wall to watch the two occupants of the room watching their future unfold.

.o.O.o.

Hiccup looked at the nightfury. "So... Toothless?"

The dragon nodded at him, significantly more at ease with his presence now. "**Hiccup.**"

Hiccup sighed. "What are we going to do?"

Toothless tilted his head to one side and thought. "**Well, perhaps you could persuade your friends to train their dragons your way instead of going through with that**." he twitched his head towards the screen. "**Maybe if you trained the dragons and explained everything to them they would go along with it and allow the teens to train them**."

Hiccup nodded. "Fishlegs would love this. He adores dragons."

Toothless nodded. "**The** **gronkle is a good match for him. Especially that female. I remember her from the nest. She will be good for him, I think. He looks like the type that would need someone patient**."

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. Fishlegs requires a lot of patience. Not as much as Snotlout though."

Toothless nodded. "**Remind me to smack him around when I meet him**." he bared his teeth and growled at the screen.

Hiccup looked disapprovingly down at toothless. "No. No smacking people."

He huffed in annoyance but otherwise didn't comment.

"Good to see the two of you getting along so well."

Hiccup looked over at Thor and Thunder. "Um... thanks?"

Thor nodded. "Now, do you want to go back and deal with all of this first, or see the next thing I have to show you?"

Hiccup and Toothless looked to each other and somehow managed to have a silent conversation despite knowing very little about each other. "We want to see it now." Hiccup looked to Thor and the god smiled. "Ah good. Now then, this takes place five years from now so-"

"**Why** **don't we show them about Hiccup's Dragon Academy and about the Outcasts and Berserkers**?"

Thor looked down at his dragon. "That's a great idea!"

They both disappeared and the black square lit up again.

.o.O.o.

"I really have to make that shield."

"**I will find you a gronkle and I know what rock they need to eat. I saw it once.**"

Hiccup nodded and looked towards toothless. "We can do all of that as soon as possible. And I won't trust Mildew. That screaming death is a problem though..."

Toothless nodded. "**If we can get his mother he won't cause so much destruction and since we know where his mother is it won't be too hard.**"

Hiccup nodded. "I just don't want to see the Screaming Death in the hands of the Outcasts."

Toothless nodded. "**I know that island. Even my kind stay away from it**."

Hiccup nodded. "From what I can see there's no point being there. If you need to get food for the queen then you're not going to get any from Outcast Island."

Toothless nodded and they both looked up when the square lit up again. Hiccup smirked at his voice giving and intro. He really did have a flair for the dramatics.

.o.O.o.

Hiccup leant forwards and looked at the ground. "My Mother's alive?"

Toothless nudged him and crooned. "**Hiccup?**"

Hiccup shook his head and got out of the chair, curling up against Toothless and continuing to watch the future unfold.

.o.O.o.

Hiccup sighed and slumped back against Toothless. "I won't let that happen."

Toothless nodded. "**Me either. I'm sorry Hiccup. I didn't mean it.**"

"I know bud. Don't worry about it."

Toothless sighed. "**When we get back, I will meet you at the cove**."

Hiccup nodded.

Thor stepped back into the room. "So, now that I have shown you the future, it is up to you to change it. Have fun."

Everything exploded in a flash of white.

.o.O.o.

Hiccup opened his eyes and found himself staring into Gothi's face. She moved back and he pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked around and saw his dad, Gobber, Uncle Spitelout and Gothi all crouded into his bedroom.

His dad leant forwards. "Hiccup? Gothi told us you were having a vision from the gods. What did you see?"

Hiccup frowned and thought. If he told his dad any of it they would ship him out to see for fear he'd gone mad. "I can't tell you. Thor said I couldn't tell anyone."

They looked at him in awe. "You spoke to Thor?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. They had an important message to give me but they told me I wasn't able to tell anyone."

Gobber blinked. "They?"

Hiccup grinned at the man he saw as a father. "Yeah. I can't tell you that either."

Spitelout snorted. "Why would the gods give you a message and then tell you not to tell anyone?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Well, why wouldn't they? Who wouldn't be impressed by all this?" he gestured to himself and Gobber chuckled. Hiccup shook his head. "But in all seriousness, I don't know why they chose me." he stood and looked to the patch of wall his window would be in the future. "They know everything after all. They must see something in my I can't."

Gothi nodded and drew something on the sand she had scattered on the floor to draw in. Hiccup looked down at it and smiled. "Thank's Gothi." He then blinked as he realised he could understand her drawings perfectly despite never being able to before.

Thor's words came back to him.

_Let me give you the gift of speech. You will be able to understand dragons now._

Was he able to understand more than just dragons?

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless help teens and dragons train, hiccup slips up and stoic uses a Terrible terror to lead him and other vikings to nest. hiccup saves the day. yay.

hiccup invents suit, sword and shild sooner and uses them all the time. goes to meet mother. spends five years getting ready for battle with Drago.


	18. Eragon HP Xover

Story Name: Untitled.

Genre: Family/Adventure

Rating: T?

Category: Harry Potter, Inheritance Crossover

* * *

Both find Eragon and bond with him. (Saphira and Ignatius) Both help him hunt by stalking prey and herding it to him. Ignatius trains Saphira in new ways to strengthen herself and get stronger. Eragon asks Brom about the riders and Brom twists his wrist, revealing the Gedwëy Ignasia. Drags Eragon to Varden. Meet Murtag. Ignatius stays hidden the entire time. Was not sworn to secrecy about Eragon's heritage and told him as Brom was saying it.

...

...

"_I want our rider."_

"_Soon sister. We go to him now."_

"_How long! I want him now!"_

"_Sister! Enough complaining! No matter how much you whine we can't get there faster! Would you rather we stayed in our eggs and let the elves carry us around until long after our rider is dead? They weren't going to take us to him and he's ready for us _now!_ We had to do this ourselves!"_

"_..."_

"_I'm sorry. I don't mean to shout. I want him too. We both need him. He is our partner of mind and heart. We need him. I can sense him we are on our way. Please, don't make this harder than it needs to be."_

"_I'm sorry Brother. I shouldn't complain. We suffer together and yet you are trying to get us through this and I just complain. I will try not to."_

Harry nodded and turned away from the tiny blue dragon next to him. It was strange, being a dragon. Having a sister more than made up for it though.

When he had come to this world he appeared in an egg with a baby dragon and was somehow a dragon himself. He still had knowledge of his previous world, of spells and magic, of feats that should by all rights be impossible, but he had no memories to go with that knowledge. He knew his name and some random facts about things but that was it.

His sister had shared all her memories with him and he knew everything she knew about their kind, but without parents they had no one to learn from.

Harry had sensed their rider first. He knew the boy was ready for them but he knew that while they were in the possession of these elves they would never find him.

So he hatched.

He and his sister had hatched out of their egg and snuck off while the elves were asleep.

As they travelled Harry used spells to summon rabbits to them for food and tried his hardest to encourage his sister to keep moving. He was sure that if they hadn't had each other then they wouldn't have been able to hatch or survived this long without a rider.

They travelled west through a thick forest with towering trees. They spent a lot of time on the ground but Harry encouraged his sister to climb the branches to sleep at night and to jump through the trees occasionally during the day. "_It will help our wings grow strong so we can fly faster and for longer before they get tired._"

Sister was reluctant to do any of the 'training exercises' he thought of but did them anyway. She never admitted it out loud but Harry could tell she was pleased with the results. They were both strong and fast for their age. They were nimble and were able to glide much better than anyone before them. They could perform point blank turns and even glide upside down for a time.

By the time they reached the mountains at the edge of the elves forest they were almost two months old and were spending almost all day in the air. They flew upwards over the mountain but had to land and walk once halfway up. The thin air made them both dizzy so Harry made them both stop at the top of the mountain for a rest before they began moving again.

They flew in a straight line from the top for a moment before tucking their wings in slightly and diving down the mountain. Harry ended up speeding ahead of his sister but she took that to be a challenge. This led to several hours of racing down the mountain and they ended up reaching the bottom by nightfall. Harry looked around and summoned a couple of deer for dinner.

Come morning they set out once more. When they got close enough, sister began to get agitated. They were close. They snuck up and kept an eye on things. Thankfully their rider headed into the forest on the other side of the village just after they arrived. They followed him. Once they were far enough away from the village Harry let his sister greet their rider.

She leapt from the bushes and rushed forwards. Harry followed at a more sedate pace. The rider looked at them both for a moment, eyes wide with awe.

"Dragons." He whispered.

He crouched down and held his hands out. Sister stepped forward and sniffed his hand for a moment before butting her head against his palm. Harry had stepped forward and butted his own head against their rider's other hand at the exact same moment. The three of them felt a shock of magic shoot through them and Harry felt a part of his mind open and this rider's mind, Eragon's mind, settle in its place. It felt like a part of him had been missing until then but he was now finally whole again.

Eragon and sister passed out moments before Harry allowed himself to black out. Harry woke first. A quick glance at the sun told him only a short time had passed. He nudged sister awake and their movements woke up Eragon.

The human sat up and rubbed his head. "What was that?"

"_The forming bond between rider and dragon._" Harry answered.

Eragon looked at him in shock. "Was that you?"

"_Yes._"

"You can talk... straight into my mind..."

"_Yes. I don't have a mouth like yours. I can't talk like you can._"

Eragon blinked and shook his head slightly.

Sister rubbed her head against his chest. "_We've been looking for you, Eragon. You are our rider. We travelled all of Alagaesia looking for you. We hatched two months ago and came to look for you properly._"

"For me? Why?"

Harry tilted his head. "_You are our rider. Out of everyone in the world, you are the one we wish to spend the rest of eternity with. You are our partner of mind and heart, the perfect match for our souls. Together, we are complete. Though 'all of Alagaesia' is an exaggeration. We were halfway through the elves forest when we hatched and headed to you."_

Eragon stood up and rubbed sister's eye ridges. "Right..." he was silent for several moments. Harry could see he was looking deep within himself and could feel the bond. Harry sent his love across it and Eragon jumped slightly. "Was that you?"

Harry nodded. "_Yes_."

Eragon nodded slowly. "Right... well... what are your names?"

Sister tilted her head. "_You have to give us one. You are our rider. You name us._"

Eragon nodded slowly. "Right... so, you're a girl, and you're a boy... um... well, Brom told me a load of stories about dragons. Maybe one of them has a suitable name." He walked further into the forest, Harry and sister at his heels. It took a while for him to settle on a name for sister. Saphira. It took a lot of thinking as Saphira had outright rejected almost everything he thought of. Eragon sighed. "And what about you then?"

Harry tilted his head. While he knew in whatever world he came from his name had been Harry, but that was his old life. He was starting a new one here, so he wanted a new name. "_I do not know._"

Eragon nodded and looked him over. "I don't know. None of the names I know of would suit you."

Harry twisted his head. There was a mark on his shoulder, just at the base of his neck. It was faint and he could only see it if he was looking but it was a triangle with a circle inside, bisected by a line. For some reason the word 'Ignotus' stuck in his mind. "_Perhaps something similar to 'Ignite'._"

Eragon thought for a moment longer as they continued to travel in silence. "What about Ignatius?"

Harry tilted his head. Ignatius... "_Yes... I think that fits. Ignatius._"

Eragon smiled. "Alright then. Saphira and Ignatius."

Saphira bobbed her head slightly and brushed her jaw against Eragon's hip as she walked. "_Where are we going?_"

"Hunting. I need to get meat for my family. Perhaps sell some to Sloan for some money. We need that too."

Saphira nodded and Ignatius silently crept into the underbrush. For a while they travelled in silence, at least on the outside. Within their minds they shared memories and information. By the time they headed back to the village a week later with four large deer and a bag full of rabbit they had gotten to know each other quite well.

Ignatius and Saphira crept through the bushes on the outside of the village and watched Eragon as he walked.

Eragon dropped one of the deer off at a house on the way past and wouldn't take no for an answer. He sold the other two to the butcher leaving him with one deer and a bag of rabbit. He carried on down a path and ended up at a small farm.

They watched him greet his family and they celebrated a successful hunt.

For the next few weeks Eragon worked on the farm with his Uncle Garrow and Cousin Roran. They both noticed Eragon seemed distracted. Saphira and Ignatius were engaged in a near silent argument as usual. Saphira wanted to meet Eragon's family but Ignatius didn't. Not that he didn't want to meet them, he just didn't want them to know about him.

In the end they decided that since riders only have one dragon, they would introduce Saphira as Eragon's dragon and Ignatius would hide in the background. The ace in the hole.


	19. Baked Snape

Story Name: untitled

Genre: undecided

Rating: T/M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry walked into the potions classroom with Ron and Hermione. They sat at their usual table right as Snape's office door slammed open. Everyone stared in shock as Snape _stumbled_ into the room and almost crashed into his desk, barely managing to catch himself.

The man swayed slightly and stood up straight. He turned around and pointed towards the class. "Shut the fuck down and sit up... wait... fuck." He walked around the desk and flopped into his chair. "Ugh... words..." he turned around to look at the board.

"Does anyone else see the platypus?"

Harry tilted his head. "No Sir. The board is blank."

"Fuck." Snape turned back around and fell off his chair. There was a moment of shuffling before Snape appeared back above his desk and sat heavily in his chair. "Right... lesson plan... here somewhere..."

Harry got out of his chair and walked over, helping to look for the lesson plan. "Are you alright, sir?"

Snape blinked owlishly up at him for a moment. "I am... so... baked right now... I am only... thirty percent sure you're actually real..."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Why are you baked?"

Snape coughed. "Third years... botched potion... entire class in the hospital wing but I've got to teach you lot so," he swung both arms out wide. "Here I am!" he fell sideways off his chair.

Harry stepped around the desk and helped Snape back up into his chair. He looked over the desk and finally managed to find the lesson plan. "Your desk is a mess, sir."

"So's ya face."

Malfoy laughed. "He's told you, Potter!"

Snape looked over at Malfoy. "Shut the fuck up, you whiny, spoiled, ferret faced snot. No one wants to hear you speak. Do us all a favour and no more talking." Snape wiggled a finger at him, slouching over his desk as he did so.

Harry looked at Malfoy for a moment before turning back to Snape. "Go to sleep Sir."

Snape made some kind of groan before face planting his desk. Within seconds he was snoring.

Harry shook his head and looked at the lesson plan. "Right, so. Today we were supposed to be brewing the Wiggenweld Potion but I think He'd kill us if we brewed with him like this. The homework for today is three feet on the Wiggenweld, its properties, uses, key ingredients, warnings about the brewing process, things you need to be careful of when brewing and how long it's shelf life is."

Harry turned and a flick of his wand had the homework written on the board.

"We may as well use this class time to do that."

He put the paper back on snape's desk, meeting the man's glazed eyes as he looked up from where he had buried his face in some papers. As Harry walked back to his seat snape called out from behind.

"Mr Potter? Have I ever told you... that you have a georgeous arse?"

Harry stood stock still in the middle of the room. "No. No I don't believe you have. But thank you for the complement."

"Can I fuck you?"

"No you may not."

Snape groaned again and buried his face in the crook of one arm, falling back to sleep. By the end of the class everyone had finished their homework and was sitting, chatting quietly to each other. The bell rang and Harry moved up the Gryffindor side of the classroom, collecting the completed homework. He raised an eyebrow at Neville's five feet and smiled when the boy blushed.

He nodded at Zabini as the boy joined him at Snape's desk with the Slytherin's homework.

Harry looked Snape over before picking up the lesson plan off the desk. "Tsk. He has three more classes today."

Zabini narrowed his lips and hummed slightly. "You and me stay?"

Harry looked the boy over. "Alright." He turned around. "Mia, Ron, tell McGonagall I'm helping Snape out today, yeah?" Ron and Hermione nodded.

Zabini looked over at Nott who nodded in turn.

The bell rang and everyone filed out of the classroom.

Harry looked at Zabini. "Hi. My name's Harry. I don't believe we've met before."

Zabini smirked. "Well met, Harry. Name's Blaise."

Harry smirked and stepped around the desk, shifting papers around into more orderly piles. Zabini meanwhile moved around the room, setting up the cauldrons and work stations. "It's only first years next right? We can manage them."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. The puffs and Ravens. You take the Ravens I'll take the Puffs?"

Zabini nodded. "Sure. Simple wart remover right?"

"Yup."

Harry and Zabini made casual conversation as they pottered about the room, setting it up. Harry moved Snape to a bench at the back of the room and lay him down, draping the large blanket used for putting out large fires over him.

"Let's hope none of the firsties set fire to the class room."

Zabini chuckled from the cupboard.

A few moments later Harry walked over to the door and let the First years in. "Come on, Take your seats." When all the little ones had sat down Harry walked to the front of the room. "Welcome to potions. I am Assistant Professor Potter, this is Assistant Professor Zabini. We will be taking over for Professor Snape today."

Zabini stepped forward slightly from where he was standing next to Harry. "Don't think this means we will go easy on you. Potions are dangerous and I won't have you all hurting yourself or each other because you weren't paying attention."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. Now, while we may not be as harsh as Professor Snape we won't tolerate any of you messing around. So, Books out." He turned and flicked his wand at the board, the ingredients list appearing. "Once you've found the correct page please raise your hand." There was a few moments of frantic page turning before one of the ravens lifted his hand.

"Is it the Wart Remover?"

Zabini nodded. "That it is. Very good. Page 53." There was more page turning. "Alright. Since a Raven was the first to guess, Ravenclaw, you go get your ingredients first." There was a moment of shuffling and a bit of shoving as the ravens all tried to get the ingredients before they were sat back at their tables and the Badgers were allowed to get their ingredients.

Harry looked them over. "Now, everyone give the instructions a quick once over. Is there anything you need to take notice of?"

Everyone looked confused for a moment as they read the instructions before a super short badger at the back raised their hand. Harry pointed to him. "Um... we have to stir clockwise for the entire potion until the last step, where we turn anti-clockwise."

Harry nodded. "Excellent. Now, does anyone know why this is?" there was a bit of shrugging and nervous looking around before harry smirked. "No one? Never mind. You can look it up for homework. Now, once you are all sure of the process, you may begin."

The lesson progressed quickly and with both Harry and Blaise walking around the room correcting preparation mistakes the entire class ended up making a surprisingly passable attempt at the potion.

Once everyone had bottled up a sample and labelled it, Harry and Blaise looked over a few of them. Three Ravens and two badgers had managed to brew a perfect potion as far as they could tell.

Harry and Blaise silently conferred over each one before deciding to bottle the entire batch. They kept each batch separate in a labelled box. "Now, if professor Snape sais you've done this as perfectly as we think you have, you may be allowed to keep some of these, while the rest will be given to Madam Pomfrey."

The students in question practically glowed under the praise. Harry assigned them the homework, getting them to write down the points they were supposed to cover before dismissing them just as the bell rang.

Snape fell off the bench.

Harry and Blaise helped him back onto it and he looked them both over, still completely stoned. "Hello... wazup?"

Harry smiled. "Your first year class is over Sir. They did rather well, all things considering."

Blaise nodded. "No explosions, no note passing, no unnecessary gossip and whispering."

Snape nodded. "Aright... fuck, I'm hard..."

Harry and Blaise both blushed and turned around as Snape began to grope himself through his trousers. Blaise coughed. "I'm going to check on the ingredients cupboard."

Harry nodded. "I'll clean the tables."

Several moments later Harry was regretting not hiding in the cupboard with Blaise as Snape was now wanking fully and not being very quiet about it either. Harry glanced over and blushed heavily turning away again. Harry was just cleaning the last table when Snape came with a strangled groan and passed out again.

Harry sighed and through a cleaning spell at the man, before grimacing and tucking him into his trousers, draping the blanket over him again. "It's safe to come out now."

Blaise walked out of the cupboard. "Merlin I wish you could use magic in there. A silencing charm would have been good."

Harry grimaced. "You think it was bad in there? I could see him out here. I had to put him back in after."

Blaise winced. "Alright, you win."

Harry nodded. "Who's next?"

Blaise looked at the lesson plan. "Lunch, then Seventh years."

Harry nodded. "Not much for us to do then?"

Blaise nodded. "Yeah. We just have to keep an eye out but they will know what they're doing."

Harry called Dobby and ordered food for himself and Blaise, thinking it would be best to eat in here where they could keep an eye on Snape.

After lunch the Seventh years walked in and after a quick explanation they were settled down working while Blaise and Harry got on with some other work and gave Snape the occasional shove when he threatened to roll off the bench again.

At the end of the class the seventh years packed up their potions and Harry told them the homework. They filed out silently, only the occasional glare to the Slytherins from the one Gryffindor in the group.

The Final group was second year Gryffindor and Slytherins. Harry took the Lions while Blaise took the Snakes and somehow managed to get them to behave for the duration of the class. In the end, almost half the class managed to brew decent potions and Harry and Blaise told them again about them being used in the hospital wing if they were good enough.

Once the class had filled out and the room was cleaned up Harry and Blaise stood, staring at Snape. Harry sighed. "So... what do we do with him?"

Blaise shrugged. "No clue. We can't leave him here."

Harry nodded. "I don't know where to take him though..."

Blaise shrugged. "At least into his office?"

Harry nodded they both took an arm, lifting him up and dragging him into his office. "Oh, look. His private quarters." Harry pointed to an open door. They dragged the man through and dragged him into his bedroom. Harry climbed onto the bed to pull Snape into the recovery position on the sheets. Blaise was just leaning over to help when Snape woke up and wrapped an arm over each of their waists and rolled over, forcing both boys onto their backs on the bed with him looming over them.

"Hello beautiful."

Harry gulped and without thinking kneed the man in the crotch. The two boys slid out and Blaise ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I'm done. See you later Potter."

Harry nodded and called out to the boy as he left. "When you're in the hall later, ask the staff to tell anyone with a detention with Snape to come to the classroom as usual."

Blaise nodded and waved a hand over his shoulder, disappearing from view. Harry shook his head and once again put Snape in the recovery position. Calling Dobby to bring him some food in the sitting room and to keep an eye on Snape.

Once Harry had eaten he went back to the classroom and sat at Snape's desk, continuing to sort it out. At seven o'clock sharp there was a knock at the door. "Enter." He called.

Two third year Gryffindors walked in, relaxing slightly when they saw Harry. Harry narrowed his eyes at them slightly and looked at the detention record he had found. "So, you both thought that throwing ingredients across the room was a good idea?"

The boys suddenly looked nervous.

Harry sighed. "Mr Smith, you will be cleaning those cauldrons. Not the Bubblegum pink one. I have no idea what that was supposed to be but I don't want you touching it. Mr Lanks, you are scrubbing the tables down. Supplies are in the cupboard over there. There is to be no talking. Get to it."

Lanks pouted. "Why are you actually doing this? Why not let us off?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Because, until Professor Snape has recovered, Assistant Professor Zabini and I are taking over his duties. This includes detention. You have broken the rules and put not only yourselves but your entire class at risk. Potions are incredibly dangerous. If not mixed properly the results could be disastrous. Now, you are going to get to work, or I can find something far less pleasant for you to do."

Lanks ducked his head and silently got the supplies out to clean the tables. By the end of the hour he had cleaned all but one and Smith had three cauldrons left to clean. "The hour is up. Do you wish to see this through to the end as you are both so close to finishing?"

Both boys shook their heads and Harry sighed as he dismissed them. He got up from the desk and cleaned the last table, giving them all a quick once over to be sure, before moving to clean the last few cauldrons. He had no idea what the pink one was but from experience, the brighter the colour, the more dangerous it was. With the proper protection Harry cleaned it up easily, though the protective gloves were a bit worn through.

Harry walked back to Snape's rooms and settled down on the couch. "Dobby. Wake me if Snape needs me?" the little elf nodded and Harry slid his shoes off, settling down to sleep on the couch.

Harry woke several hours later to a wand at his throat. Harry cracked an eye open and smiled slightly. "Welcome back Professor. Feeling better?"

Snape scowled. "What happened?"

Harry grimaced at the man's breath but none the less gave a detailed recount of the day before as he knew it. "I don't know what happened before my class but I couldn't leave you like that."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry but otherwise didn't comment.

Harry stood and stretched, putting his shoes on. "Well, since you've recovered, I'll get out of your hair."

He left the rooms, shutting the door behind him and heading back up to Gryffindor tower. The next day Umbridge tried to give him a detention for missing so many classes the day before but a quick word from Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall had them cancelled.

A few days later Harry formed a defence club with the approval of all four heads of house. When asked why Snape agreed to it the man simply replied. "Potter has shown himself capable of controlling a classroom. So long as he doesn't have any real authority over the students its fine if he runs a silly little club."

Harry smirked and didn't comment on the fact that the man had actually just admitted he did a good job teaching potions.


	20. Baked Snape, V2

Story name: Baked Snape Version 2

Genre: undecided (Romance? if I continue, yes)

Rating: M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry walked into the potions classroom with Ron and Hermione. They sat at their usual table right as Snape's office door slammed open. Everyone stared in shock as Snape _stumbled_ into the room and almost crashed into his desk, barely managing to catch himself.

The man swayed slightly and stood up straight. He turned around and pointed towards the class. "Shut the fuck down and sit up... wait... fuck." He walked around the desk and flopped into his chair. "Ugh... words..." he turned around to look at the board. "Does anyone else see the platypus?"

Harry tilted his head. "No Sir. The board is blank."

"Fuck." Snape turned back around and fell off his chair. There was a moment of shuffling before Snape appeared back above his desk and sat heavily in his chair. "Right... lesson plan... here somewhere..."

Harry got out of his chair and walked over, helping to look for the lesson plan. "Are you alright, sir?"

Snape blinked owlishly up at him for a moment. "I am... so... baked right now... I am only... thirty percent sure you're actually real..."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Why are you baked?"

Snape coughed. "Third years... botched potion... entire class in the hospital wing but I've got to teach you lot so," he swung both arms out wide. "Here I am!" he fell sideways off his chair.

Harry stepped around the desk and helped Snape back up into his chair. He looked over the desk and finally managed to find the lesson plan. "Your desk is a mess, sir."

"So's ya face."

Malfoy laughed. "He's told you, Potter!"

Snape looked over at Malfoy. "Shut the fuck up, you whiny, spoiled, ferret faced snot. No one wants to hear you speak. Do us all a favour and no more talking." Snape wiggled a finger at him, slouching over his desk as he did so.

Harry looked at Malfoy for a moment before turning back to Snape. "Go to sleep Sir."

Snape made some kind of groan before face planting his desk. Within seconds he was snoring.

Harry shook his head and looked at the lesson plan. "Right, so. Today we were supposed to be brewing the Wiggenweld Potion but I think he'd kill us if we brewed with him like this. The homework for today is three feet on the Wiggenweld."

Harry turned and a flick of his wand had the homework written on the board.

"We may as well use this class time to do that."

He put the paper back on Snape's desk, meeting the man's glazed eyes as he looked up from where he had buried his face in some papers. As Harry walked back to his seat Snape called out from behind.

"Mr Potter? Have I ever told you... that you have a gorgeous arse?"

Harry stood stock still in the middle of the room. "No. No I don't believe you have. But thank you for the complement."

"Can I fuck you?"

"No you may not."

Snape groaned again and buried his face in the crook of one arm, falling back to sleep. By the end of the class everyone had finished their homework and was sitting, chatting quietly to each other. The bell rang and Harry moved up the Gryffindor side of the classroom, collecting the completed homework. He raised an eyebrow at Neville's five feet and smiled when the boy blushed.

He nodded at Zabini as the boy joined him at Snape's desk with the Slytherin's homework.

Harry looked Snape over before picking up the lesson plan off the desk. "Tsk. He has three more classes today." He passed the lesson plan to Zabini who looked it over.

Zabini narrowed his lips and hummed slightly. "You and me stay?"

Harry looked the boy over. "Alright." He turned around. "Mia, Ron, tell McGonagall I'm helping Snape out today, yeah?" Ron and Hermione nodded.

Zabini looked over at Nott who nodded in turn.

The bell rang and everyone filed out of the classroom.

Harry looked at Zabini. "Hi. My name's Harry. I don't believe we've met before."

Zabini smirked. "Well met, Harry. Name's Blaise."

Harry smirked and stepped around the desk, shifting papers around into more orderly piles. Zabini meanwhile moved around the room, setting up the cauldrons and work stations. "It's only first years next right? We can manage them."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. The Puffs and Ravens. You take the Ravens I'll take the Puffs?"

Zabini nodded. "Sure. Simple wart remover right?"

"Yup."

Harry and Zabini made casual conversation as they pottered about the room, setting it up. Harry moved Snape to a bench at the back of the room and lay him down, draping the large blanket used for putting out large fires over him.

"Let's hope none of the firsties set fire to the class room."

Zabini chuckled from the cupboard where he was getting the supplies.

A few moments later Harry walked over to the door and let the First years in. "Come on, Take your seats." When all the little ones had sat down Harry walked to the front of the room. "Welcome to potions. I am Temporary Assistant Professor Potter, this is Temporary Assistant Professor Zabini. We will be taking over for Professor Snape today."

Zabini stepped forward slightly from where he was standing next to Harry. "Don't think this means we will go easy on you. Potions are dangerous and I won't have you all hurting yourself or each other because you weren't paying attention."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. Now, while we may not be as harsh as Professor Snape we won't tolerate any of you messing around. So, Books out." He turned and flicked his wand at the board, the ingredients list appearing. "Once you've found the correct page please raise your hand." There was a few moments of frantic page turning before one of the ravens lifted his hand.

"Is it the Wart Remover?"

Zabini nodded. "That it is. Very good. Page 53." There was more page turning. "Alright. Since a Raven was the first to guess, Ravenclaw, you go get your ingredients first." There was a moment of shuffling and a bit of shoving as the Ravens all tried to get the ingredients before they were sat back at their tables and the Badgers were allowed to get their ingredients.

Harry looked them over. "Now, everyone give the instructions a quick once over. Is there anything you need to take notice of?"

Everyone looked confused for a moment as they read the instructions before a super short badger at the back raised their hand. Harry pointed to him. "Um... we have to take the cauldron off the fire before we add the last two ingredients."

Harry nodded. "Excellent. Now, does anyone know why this is?" there was a bit of shrugging and nervous looking around before Harry smirked. "No one? Never mind. You can look it up for homework. Now, once you are all sure of the process, you may begin."

The lesson progressed quickly and with both Harry and Blaise walking around the room correcting preparation mistakes the entire class ended up making a surprisingly passable attempt at the potion.

Once everyone had bottled up a sample and labelled it, Harry and Blaise looked over a few of them. Three Ravens and two badgers had managed to brew a perfect potion as far as they could tell.

Harry and Blaise silently conferred over each one before deciding to bottle the entire batch. They kept each batch separate in a labelled box. "Now, if professor Snape sais you've done this as perfectly as we think you have, you may be allowed to keep some of these, while the rest will be given to Madam Pomfrey."

The students in question practically glowed under the praise. Harry assigned them the homework, getting them to write down the points they were supposed to cover before dismissing them just as the bell rang.

Snape fell off the bench.

Harry and Blaise helped him back onto it and he looked them both over, still completely stoned. "Hello... wazup?"

Harry smiled. "Your first year class is over Sir. They did rather well, all things considering."

Blaise nodded. "No explosions, no note passing, no unnecessary gossip and whispering."

Snape nodded. "Aright... fuck, I'm hard..."

Harry and Blaise both blushed and turned around as Snape began to grope himself through his trousers. Blaise coughed. "I'm going to check on the ingredients cupboard."

"I think I'll join you." Harry added, following Blaise towards the cupboard.

"Immobulous."

They both froze suddenly and Harry swallowed, trying to get his legs to move. There was a loud shuffling before the sound of bare feet on stone and Harry felt something heavy against his back. It nearly unbalanced him but a pair of arms wrapped around him. Harry swallowed again, noticing the lack of clothing on those arms. "P-professor?"

Snape let go and walked around him, smiling drunkenly down at him. Harry flushed looking over his very naked, very aroused (and admittedly kind of hot) Professor. Any other thoughts flew from his mind as the man dropped to his knees and momentarily fumbled with Harry's belt before yanking his trousers down, boxers and all. "Wait! Stop!" The man stared hungrily at Harry's prick, one hand flying down to continue stroking his own swollen, dripping member. His other hand grabbed a hold of Harry's flaccid cock, pulling it towards his mouth before he swallowed the head.

Harry gasped and closed his eyes. "Professor... stop, please." He opened his eyes again and glanced down as best he could (thankfully he walked with his head slightly lowered) and watched the man happily sucking him like it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. Harry tried his hardest to not let any of the sounds he so desperately wanted to make out.

He'd barely ever wanked, having more important things to focus on, and now someone was sucking him off?

It didn't matter that it was professor Snape, or that Harry was kind of scared right now, or that he didn't want his first time to be with his drugged up potions teacher who was so enthusiastically swallowing him to the root.

It felt _so_ good.

The noises Snape was making weren't helping either. The man was slurping away and the occasional hums and moans he made went straight trough him. He couldn't hold back the quiet moans, gasps and whimpers that escaped him, in between his pleading the professor to stop.

Harry had never been so embarrassed before. He was already harder then he'd ever been before and he could feel pre-cum oozing from his prick, the taste clearly exciting Snape more. And Blaise was right there in front of him, trembling, despite being immobilised.

Harry thought he was just about to cum when finally Snape slid off him with a slick pop letting a gasp.

Harry looked down pleadingly. "Don't do this, sir. Please. Stop."

Snape groaned low. "Want you..." he stood up and Harry was able to see the man's cock which was now purple with need, pre-cum dripping in a steady flow from the engorged head. It looked kind of painful. Harry couldn't imagine being that aroused and _not_ doing anything he could to finish.

He whimpered as Snape grabbed at his clothes, tearing the buttons right off as he pulled it apart. Harry closed his eyes, embarrassed to see himself naked and hard. He bit back a scream as Snape carefully lowered him to the ground.

"Want you so bad..." the man nuzzled his belly.

Harry whimpered and began begging the man not to. Snape carefully positioned Harry's legs, and crawled between them. He grabbed Harry's head and tilted it up, dragging him in for a deep kiss. Harry whimpered into the man's mouth, part it fear, part in arousal at the taste of his pre-cum in the man's mouth.

Snape pulled back and Harry closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain when he felt Snape moving above him and suddenly his cock was engulfed in a tight, hot, spasming grip. He screamed, in equal parts shock and pleasure snapping his eyes open to see Snape sat firmly on top of him, head thrown back, face twisted in pleasure.

The man's dark eyes were half lidded, his lashes fluttering slightly. His mouth was opened in a slack jawed expression of pleasure, drool and cum coving his chin, lips swollen and red, cheeks flushed. He has panting heavily, a deep moan coming from within his chest as he shifted his arse, eyes closing at the feeling of Harry's cock shifting inside him.

Harry whimpered as his cock firmed further, having deflated slightly in his fear. The man looked so completely sinful right now. He was not conventionally handsome but _fuck_ he looked so sexy. Snape ran a hand down his own chest, firmly gripping his cock and stroking it, letting out another obscene moan. Who knew the man was so vocal. Snape's hips gave a tiny, experimental trust. He wriggled a little and moved again.

Harry whimpered again, the feeling was so intense. It was like nothing he'd ever imagined, even in his wildest dreams. Within moments Snape was bouncing up and down on top of him, impaling himself. He let go of his cock to hold onto Harry's knees, trusting down harder and faster.

Harry moaned and closed his eyes, as he felt his climax rush through him.

He lay, panting, while Snape continued to bounce, purple swollen cock bouncing in time with his trusts, slapping them both. Harry let out a high pitched keening sound as the feeling of the man bouncing on him, the sight of that massive, swollen flesh bobbing in time, caused his oversensitive cock to swell back up in no time.

Snape shifted position slightly and Harry felt his cock hit something inside the man, who immediately arched further backwards, almost screaming in pleasure, his cock desperately spurting more pre-cum. The man heisted for barely a second before slamming himself down, desperately seeking to hit that spot again.

Harry couldn't help the noises he was making now, loud moans as gasps spilling from him.

It wasn't long before Snape shuddered and screamed, pearly white cum spilling from him in waves. Harry had barely a second to admire the sight of his face, twisted in rapturous pleasure before he came, the tight spasming of the man's arse gripping him, milking every last drop of cum from him.

Harry opened his eyes weakly. He groaned at the weight of the man on top of him and tried to move, finding himself still immobilised. He sighed, settling for blowing in the man's ear in the hopes of getting him to move.

Snape eventually rolled off of him and lay on the floor beside him, panting heavily. He rolled over slightly and curled up against Harry's side. "So good... hmmm Harry..."

Harry swallowed, "sir," he coughed to clear his throat, surprised at how hoarse his voice was. "Sir, let go of the spell."

Snape mumbled something into his shoulder and Harry felt the magic holding him vanish.

A thud and whimper reminded him that they were not alone in the room. Harry sat up, intending to ask Blaise how he was when he spotted the red all over his stomach. He looked around and noticed, with a little bit of smug satisfaction, that it was coming from Snape's ass along with a large amount of his cum. "That's a lot of blood..." he muttered.

Blaise let out a high pitched keen and vomited all over the floor.

Harry frowned sadly and summoned his wand, casting several cleaning and freshening charms. He stood up, his legs wobbling worryingly, and pulled his boxers and trousers up from where they'd been gathered at his ankles, trapped by his shoes.

He stepped over to Blaise and crouched down, placing a hand on the boy's back. "Blaise?"

The boy whimpered and turned, wrapping his arms around Harry and burying his face in his chest. "I'm sorry. I tried to break the spell but I couldn't."

Harry awkwardly rubbed the older boy's back. "Um... it's okay..."

Blaise shook his head, his breath hitching a little. They sat together in silence for a few minutes, Harry keeping half an eye on Snape to make sure he didn't wake up. Eventually Blaise pulled away and took a deep, steadying breath. "Sorry..." he rubbed a hand over his face, as if he could wipe away what had just happened.

Harry shook his head. "It's fine. His magic was too strong. If I couldn't break out of it, you couldn't. I have more magic than Snape, so I should have been able to break out of his spell easily but I couldn't." He flushed slightly, more for the fact that he hadn't even thought to use magic to break the spell than for what happened. "I'll clean him up and get him back on the bench. You go clean yourself up."

Blaise gave him an unreadable look. "You sure? I can deal with him if you want."

Harry shook his head. "It's fine. I can manage." He stood up, succeeding on the second attempt when his legs gave out under him the first time.

Blaise glanced over at Snape and drew in a hissing breath.

Harry followed his gaze and looked at the little bit of bloody semen leaking from Snape's swollen red arse. "Hmmm."

Blaise shook his head slightly. "You... topped?"

Harry shook his head. "Well, since I was immobilised... it was more him using me as a dildo than anything else." Both of them make a chocked sound at that. Harry in disbelief at having said something like that while Blaise was still disturbed by the whole situation.

Blaise cleared his throat. "Y-you'll be alright?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." He picked up his wand and stunned the man for good measure and walking over to where he left his clothes. It took a little while to get the man dressed as well as fix his own clothes from the damage Snape had done in his hate to get him undressed. He placed the man on the bench with the blanket again, sticking him in a full body bind to be on the safe side.

Blaise came back in from the bathroom attached to the classroom and Harry went in. Despite the cleaning charms he felt filthy so he stripped off and had a brisk shower, thankful that the potions classroom had one in case of an emergency.

He spelled himself dry and looked in the mirror, casting a few healing charms to get rid of his kiss swollen lips and the bites and hickeys that he couldn't for the life of him remember happening.

He stepped back out of the bathroom and looked towards where Blaise was setting up. "Hey, Zabini." The boy turned to face him. "This. Never. Happened."

Blaise coughed. "Agreed."

Harry nodded. "Who's next?"

Blaise looked at the lesson plan. "We've got fifteen minutes left of lunch, then Seventh years."

Harry nodded. "Not much for us to do then?"

Blaise nodded. "Yeah. We just have to keep an eye out but they will know what they're doing."

Harry called Dobby and ordered food for himself and Blaise, thinking it would be best to eat in here where they could keep an eye on Snape.

After lunch the Seventh years walked in and after a quick explanation they were settled down working while Blaise and Harry got on with some of their own work. Part way through the lesson Snape woke up and started ranting about things that made no sense whatsoever.

After a few moments of this he suddenly cried out. "Harry! Harry!"

"Yes sir?"

"If a penguin had to take the queen to the prom would a clown sausage?"

Harry was silent for a moment. "What?"

"But would a clown sausage though?" the man seemed almost frantic.

"Um... yes sir, a clown would sausage..."

Snape seemed to relax and smiled. "Knew it." There was quiet chuckling from around the room.

Harry smirked at them. "And this is why we don't botch potions."

Snape started mumbling again. "There was a cookie that went down the street to visit the grandmother's house but the woodsman cut the wolf in half so the crocodile ate the children and the butterscotch and the monkey played tuba scuba diving hippopopopomamans but white and fluffy like clouds with legs that milk knife and butter sausage."

Harry was barely fighting back his laughter as Snape went on, making progressively less sense. Some tings Harry was abstractly able to put together but most of it was completely unrelated.

At the end of the class the seventh years packed up their potions and Harry told them the homework. They filed out silently, only the occasional glare to the Slytherins from the one Gryffindor in the group.

The Final group was second year Gryffindor and Slytherins, and thankfully Snape had fallen back to sleep by that point. Harry took the Lions while Blaise took the Snakes and somehow managed to get them to behave for the duration of the class. In the end, almost half the class managed to brew decent potions and Harry and Blaise told them again about them being used in the hospital wing if they were good enough.

Once the class had filled out and the room was cleaned up Harry and Blaise stood, staring at Snape. Harry sighed. "So... what do we do with him?"

Blaise shrugged. "No clue. We can't leave him here."

Harry nodded. "I don't know where to take him though..."

Blaise shrugged. "At least into his office?"

Harry nodded they both took an arm, lifting him up and dragging him into his office. "Oh, look, his private quarters." Harry pointed to an open door. They dragged the man through and dragged him into his bedroom. Harry climbed onto the bed to pull Snape into the recovery position on the sheets when the man woke up again. "Hello beautiful." He slurred, smiling drunkenly again and crawled towards Harry on the bed.

Suddenly he stiffened and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he flopped down unconscious to reveal Blaise behind him, wand drawn.

Harry sighed. "Thanks Blaise."

He nodded. "No problem." They both stared down at the man as Harry moved him into the recovery position again. "Why do you make him lie like that?"

Harry looked up at him. "It's called the recovery position. It keeps his airways open so he won't suffocate and his face is tilted downwards so if he throws up we won't choke on his own sick and die. I learned it my old primary school."

Blaise grimaced and nodded. "Right. Too much information. I'm going to leave now. You going to be okay?"

Harry waved him off. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll have my house elf keep an eye on him while I supervise the detentions Snape has today, unless you want to do that?"

Blaise shook his head. "No. Have fun though. I'll let the professors know detentions as usual."

Harry nodded and stared at Snape as Blaise left. He sighed and climbed off the bed. He walked into the sitting room and took a proper look around. The room was cosier than he was expecting, deep brown and earthen tones, rather than the green he expected. There was a table with two dining chairs over to one side, two plush looking chairs in front of the fireplace at a right angle from each other with a small table delicately positioned between them. The rug beneath the chairs was a thick, plush looking rug, a slightly darker shade of brown than the chairs.

He sat at the dining table and called for Dobby to bring him something to eat as he likely wouldn't make it to dinner. When the enthusiastic elf returned Harry asked him to keep an eye on Professor Snape and not let the man out of his private rooms should he wake.

After quickly eating his food Harry went out to Snape's office and looked over the papers on his desk. Not finding what he was looking for he searched the classroom and found it. Two Third Year Gryffindors had detention for throwing ingredients across the classroom. The detention sheet was automatically updated, Remus had told him once, so since the boys were still on it then it must have been the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that had caused the incident that morning.

Harry thought for a moment before looking over the bookshelf in the classroom. Not finding anything suitable he looked over the books in the office and then into the man's quarters. He easily found the books there as they seemed to be arranged by subject, then genre. He pulled out two books and took them over to the chair, flicking through them. He had to turn his head a few times as he tried not to retch at the images the books supplied.

He closed them both and carried them into the classroom, sitting at Snape's desk. He looked over the mess of papers and set to organising it while he waited. It was half an hour past the time the boys were due when they finally strolled in. Harry didn't look up. "Sit." He pointed to the front table. He peeked through his lashes and watched the boys saunter down the aisle and casually sit, both at the same table. "There if you please, Mr Mathews." One of the boys huffed and moved to the other table. "You are half an hour late. Anything to say?"

Crombie snorted. "It's not like this is a proper detention."

Harry's head snapped up and he glared at the boy. "_Not a proper detention_." He hissed, almost slipping into Parseltongue. He smirked. "Well, I was going to just have you scrub those cauldrons but, if you insist on this not being a... _proper detention..._ then you'll have to do something else." He picked up the two books and dropped them on the desks in front of the boys. A flick of his wrist had a pile of parchment, a quill and an inkwell in front of them both. "Start from page twenty three," he pointed at the book he gave Mathews, "And fifteen," he pointed at Crombie's "copy it out, word for word, legibly, until I say stop. Got it?"

The boys glared but nodded, opening the books.

Harry moved back to organising Snape's desk, really it was a wonder the man could ever find anything here. Once finished he simply sat back and watched the two boys. Crombie was the first one to get to a picture. He gagged and turned his head. Harry conjured a bucket next to the boy who glanced back at the book again before leaning over and heaving into the bucket. Once he stopped Harry glanced at him again from where he was pretending to read a homework assignment. "Keep copying, Mr Crombie."

The boy looked at him horrified. "Why are we copying this?"

Harry locked eyes with the boy. "You thought it would be a good idea to throw an ingredient across a room into someone else's potion. Those books are simply warning people of the consequences of adding the wrong ingredient at the wrong time, or experimenting with potions they don't understand. Anything in those books could have easily happened to you or your classmates. Keep copying."

The boy looked defiant for a second but the look on Harry's face must have persuaded him different as he bit his lip and ducked his head, going back to copying the book out.

Mathews got his first picture on the next page and was likewise supplied with a bucket.

They carried on copying for almost an hour longer before Harry stopped them both and beckoned them over, telling them to bring the books. He took the books off the boys and looked down at their tear stained faces. "Now, have you both learned your lesson?"

They both nodded and Harry wrapped an arm around each of them, drawing them into an awkward hug. "I didn't want to have to do that but you boys need to know just how dangerous something like that was. I don't want you getting hurt, or worse. Now promise me there will be no more throwing things in potions class."

"Yes sir." They both mumbled into him.

Mathews pulled back. "And I'll pay more attention in class."

Crombie nodded enthusiastically. "And I'll pay more attention to what I'm brewing."

Harry nodded. "Alright. If you've learned your lesson, you may go." The boys practically shot out the room, not even stopping to get their bags. Harry called Winky and had her take the boys' school bags up to their dorm. Harry double checked Snape's schedule and nodded. He went back into Snape's quarters to check on the man quickly before going back to the classroom. He got out some cleaning supplies and cleaned the pile of cauldrons in the corner before scrubbing down the tables.

A glance around the room and Harry sighed before scrubbing the floor, which looked twice as dirty now that the tables were clean. He then huffed as now the counters at the side, the sink and the few shelves looked dirty. It must have been close to three in the morning before Harry finished cleaning the classroom. He had checked on Snape several times during that period and stopped no less than nine students from trying to break into Snape's supply cupboard.

He left the door between the classroom and office open as he then sorted Snape's office desk paperwork out, stopping another two students from trying to steal potions ingredients. By half four he sat back in Snape's chair and grimaced. He was too tired now to stay awake much longer.

He swallowed and went back into Snape's rooms after casting a quick locking charm on the classroom door. He raised an eyebrow at Winky who smiled up at him.

"Dobby was being tired, Sir, so I is taking over for watching Professor Snape Sir."

Harry nodded tiredly. "Thanks Winky. Can you keep an eye on him still while I sleep? And keep an ear out for anyone trying to steal from the supply cupboards. I've already caught eleven students tonight."

Winky nodded. "I will, sir. You sleep."

Harry nodded and sank down into one of the chairs, letting his eyes fall shut as he instantly fell asleep. He felt like it had only been a second before he felt a hand gently shaking his shoulder. He forced his eyes opened and saw Snape lowering himself into the other chair.

The man nervously cleared his throat. "Mr Potter... I..."

Harry hummed. "Wabababa?"

"...Pardon?"

"Time?"

Snape glance at the clock. "It's... just gone six..."

Harry groaned and closed his eyes again.

"Mr Harry Potter Sir has only been asleep for an hour and a half, Professor Snape Sir."

"I-I see..." Harry felt himself lift up and he protested weakly before he was lay down on something soft and comfortable. He hummed and turned onto his side, going back off to sleep. He woke up a little while later and rubbed his eyes, which were still burning slightly. He sat up and spotted his wand on the bedside table. It was then that he realised he was in someone else's bed.

Yesterdays memories sluggishly returned as he picked up his wand of the bedside table and cast a tempus. It was nearly eight o'clock. He stretched and noticed his shoes were off. He slid off the bed and spotted them at the foot of the bed. He slid them back on and yawned, walking into the living room.

He froze.

Snape was sitting on the sofa, staring into the fireplace. A lone tear was snaking its way down a clear track on the man's cheek, a similar line visible on the other side. What scared Harry most was the look in the man's eyes. Harry stepped forwards and the man slowly looked up at him. "Potter..." it came out as barely more than a whisper. "Did... did I... f-force..." the man bit his lip and took a deep breath. "Did I force myself on y-you?" His voice cracked at the end and Harry found himself sinking onto the sofa beside the man.

"Um... y-yeah... k-kind of?"

"Oh Merlin." The man dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Harry shook his head. "Um, no. I mean... you didn't... in me... um... you kind of... erm... mine in... erm... you... well..."

"I got you hard and I raped you."

"No!"

Snape looked up. "Potter, you were telling me to stop and I didn't. I got you hard against your will, forced you to the ground and raped you. I may not have entered you but it was still rape. Besides, even if you had consented, you are underage. It was statutory rape regardless."

"I..."

Snape shook his head. "Potter... I..." he sighed and dropped his head into his hands again. "I am so, so very sorry Mr Potter. What I have done is inexcusable. If you wish, I shall leave the school."

Harry shook his head. "No, don't do that. I may not like you but... I... I liked what you did. And I'm mature enough to know it's not all your fault. You were high as a kite. I should have kept a better hold of myself and when you let go of the body bind I should have pushed you away. I shouldn't have even let you bind me in the first place. How am I supposed to take out Voldemort if I can't even notice someone behind me pulling their wand on me?"

Snape shook his head slowly. "It wasn't your fault, Potter. Please don't try to blame yourself. It was all my fault."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Can we pretend it never happened?"

Snape nodded. "We could... or you could report me to the headmaster and I would lose my job."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, and your life. Voldemort would kill you if you got fired. It's not like you make a habit of having sex with students. It was a one off and it won't happen again. No need to mention it."

Snape nodded slowly. "So... you... forgive me?"

Harry nodded and gently ran his hand through the man's hair. "If you think I need to, then yes. I forgive you. Personally, I don't think that there was anything to forgive in the first place but if my forgiveness means that much to you then you have it."

Snape let out a sound that could have been a sob if he were any other man.

"There are some potions on the desk in your office that need grading, my class did their homework in class time so we will need to revisit the wiggenweld some time, a few of the students from the other classes did a good enough job, Blaise and I think their potions could be of use in the hospital wing but that is completely up to you. I think I've mentally scared those two boys you had in detention last night but I don't think they'll be a problem in class anymore." Harry stood up and stretched. "I'm going back to my dorm, to hopefully get some more sleep. It's Saturday today, right?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful." Harry walked in front on the man and gently gripped his shoulder before leaving the room, collecting his school bag from next to the door as he did so and making his way up to Gryffindor tower. Thankfully he hadn't had defence yesterday and none of the other teachers would mention his skipping class to Umbridge.

He waved his friends off when he stumbled into the common room and went upstairs to bed. Ron and Hermione both followed him up. He flopped face first onto his bed and weakly toed his shoes off.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at Hermione. "Mia, I've been up all night making sure Snape doesn't die in his sleep. Can I just talk to you guys later?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked reluctant to agree. Surprisingly it was Ron who nodded. "Yeah mate. You sleep. We'll wake you in time for lunch."

Harry nodded, face planted his pillow again and went back off to sleep, his dreams haunted by the memory of Snape's mouth on him, his hands caressing his skin, his prick buried deep in the man's ass. Harry woke up and groaned, thrusting his hips into his bed. He turned over and closed his eyes, imagining Snape and himself in Snape's soft, comfy bed rather than the cold dungeon floor, hands caressing skin, mouth kissing each other or any bit of skin they could reach. He reached down and palmed himself through his trousers, moaning quietly as he imagined Snape spread out and ready for him, cock full and leaking, the man's whimpers and moans spurring him on.

Within moments he was biting back a loud moan as he climaxed in his trousers.

He quickly cast a cleaning charm and went into the bathroom to shower before putting some clean clothes on and heading down to the common room.

Hopefully Snape didn't come across that particular memory in their occlumency lessons, though perhaps he could persuade the man to... teach him the intricacies of being with a man. Harry bit back a smirk and sat next to his friends, banishing those thoughts from his mind.

He would probably seduce Snape over time but he wasn't expecting the man to let him fuck him any time soon.

Hopefully not too far in the future though.


	21. Deaths best friend

Story Name: undecided (perhaps something to do with Death?)

Genre: Friendship

Rating: T/M

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry sat huddled on the floor of the hut. He watched Hagrid fall asleep before silently slipping out of the hut. He dropped to his hands and knees and emptied his stomach on the ground.

A cold, thin hand gently caressed the back of his neck.

"I'm okay. My stomach just isn't used to food like that. Or any food at all really."

The hand moved and gently rubbed his back.

"Hey it's not your fault."

The hand fisted the back of his shirt.

"Hey, don't you start that again. We both know you had no choice that night. You have to do your job. I don't blame you."

The hand relaxed and gently gripped his shoulder.

"You're welcome. Now, come on. I need to get back inside before I get sick." Harry carefully stood and walked into the hut. There was a slight swishing sound and suddenly he was dry again. "Thanks." He whispered. The hand ruffled his hair and Harry crawled back under the huge coat he had been given as a blanket.

.oOo.

Harry looked at the black cloaked figure. "What do you think? Should I go along with it or..." he trailed off and the figure placed a hand against his chin. After a moment he seemed to sigh silently before nodding. Harry sighed. "I thought so... they all want their precious boy-who-lived... what will they do when they find out the real me? And what about you?"

The figure shrugged.

"You're right. We'll be fine. It doesn't matter what they think really. It's only seven years."

.oOo.

"I cannot believe him. 'Not a witch or wizard went bad that wasn't in Slytherin.' What a load of bull! A lot of Death Eaters and their supporters were in the other houses. Not all of them were in Slytherin. And not all Slytherins are evil. I mean sure, that Malfoy boy is a prick but the rest of them seem alright. And I'm expected to just, what? Hate these people just because they're in Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor? It's ridiculous!"

A pair of arms wrapped around Harry's shoulders and he relaxed back into the bone thin chest.

They stood for a moment before Harry sighed. "Thanks. Sorry. I don't mean to rant... Anyway, did you find out what was on the third floor?" there was a slight shuffling and an almost whisper of a sound. "Seriously? A Cerberus? In a school full of children? Curious, adventure, thrill seeking children? And telling them not to go there? Is he insane?"

.oOo.

"Really? Professor Snape is one of my kind? That's a surprise... though considering the resembelance to you I guess I shouldn't be. Have you approached him yet? ... How did that go? ... really? Well I'm not surprised. Should I deal with him? ... Yeah, I suppose you're right... Alright. I 'll leave him be for now. Now, what about Quirrel. I know I didn't imagine that extra soul on him... good... I suppose... alright, just do it quietly. I have to get back before anyone notices I'm gone. See you in the morning."

Neville quickly ducked back under the covers as Harry came out of the bathroom and slipped silently back into bed. He bit his lip... should he mention something? Harry was kind of talking to himself. And what was that about...

About what?

What was he just thinking? He rubbed his eyes and yawned. If it was important he would remember in the morning. There was a quiet swishing sound.

"G'night Neville."

He turned slightly to see Harry settling down in bed. "Night Harry."

.oOo.

"That was close with Neville last night. Thanks for the memory modification. It won't hurt him right?"

The cloaked figure shook his head.

"Good. He's one of the few people in Gryffindor I can stand."

The figure gently gripped Harry's shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If it were up to me, I wouldn't be here. I have more important things to do than pander to the mortal society."

.oOo.

Harry knelt next to Snape in the shrieking shack. He gently took the man's head onto his lap. "Professor?"

"Take... them..."

Harry slid an empty vial out of his pocket and quickly gathered the memories. "Don't worry Professor. You won't die tonight." He cast a glance up at a figure only he could see. The man nodded and left. He had other souls to reap.

.oOo.

Harry stood in the great hall and smirked. "Surprised?"

Voldemort snarled and threw a killing curse at him. Harry stood still and allowed it to hit him. Voldemort started to smile in triumph only to freeze. He snarled. "What?" he tried again, and again Harry stood and let him. Four more times Harry let himself get hit with the killing curse.

"Honestly Tom. If it didn't work the first time, when I was a baby, the second time, in the graveyard a few years ago, and the four times you've tried already tonight. What made you think trying again would work. Face it. You can't kill me."

Voldemort snarled. "You think so Potter? I have more ways that that to kill you!" a spell flashed right at Harry. He felt it cut right through his neck. His head fell to the ground behind him. "Ha! ... What?"

Harry turned around and picked his head up, fitting it back onto his shoulders. "Now that, hurt." He turned back around. "You can't kill me Tom. I'm Immortal."

"How?!"

Harry smirked. "I should thank you for that actually. See, you can't kill what's already dead. You killed me when I was a baby, but since I am the last living descendant of Ignotus Pevrell, I got... shall we say a 'special gift'. May I introduce you to someone? He's an old friend of mine. I believe you've been trying to run from him for a while."

Hi indicated to the side and his silent companion seemed to flicker for a moment. Everyone gasped which told Harry he had just made himself visible to everyone.

"I don't believe you've met before. Big D, this is Tom. Tom, may I introduce you to Death." In the next second Death had sped across the room and had a hand placed in Voldemort's chest. There was a high pitched shriek before he dissolved into nothing. "Ugh. I hate it when you do that."

.oOo.

Harry stretched his arms up over his head and looked back down at the paperwork in front of him. Being a reaper was a full time job. He looked over at the 'IN' door as someone walked through. "State your name and cause of death."

"Hermione Granger... I don't know... exactly..."

Harry looked up. He stared at the young woman again. He stared at her for a while. "Huh... you grew into a fine young woman, Hermione. Did you enjoy your life?"

Hermione tilted her head. "I don't... wait... do I know... Harry?"

Harry smiled. "Yup. Sorry I can't talk long. I have a job to do and all." He looked back down at the paperwork and shuffled some pages around. "Alright, here it is... sais you... oh..." Harry bit his lip and looked off to the side. "I'll need to call the boss about this..."

"No need Harry."

Harry looked over and smiled at Death walked over. "Look at this." He held up the papers.

Death took them and looked them over. "Hmm..." he smiled. "I see. No matter. Madam, if you could walk back out of that door, you will be returned home. It's not your time to die just yet."

Hermione frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Harry sighed. "I'll explain later. For now, move it. You don't have long. You're body is in cardiac arrest. If you don't get back then you'll be dead forever and there's nothing we can do about it."

Hermione gasped and turned, fleeing the room. Harry sighed and face planted the desk.

Death gently gripped his shoulder. "Go, I'll deal with this for now. Just get back as soon as you can."

Harry nodded and went out a door only he and the other reapers could see.

.oOo.

Harry sighed as he walked back into The Realm. It had been a long time since he was on the mortal plain. It was strange. Even more so seeing people he had left behind the last time he had been there who had been so sure he was dead.

Upon seeing him Death sent him straight to his chambers.

Harry flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, memories swirling behind his eyes of the rejection he faced from everyone after the final battle. The hatred hurt a bit but the people whose opinion actually mattered to him seemed hurt and betrayed. He couldn't face them and ended up coming to be a full time reaper instead of just during the summers.

He shook his head and cleared his mind. He had a new life now. He didn't need to bother with these people.


	22. Everyone Wishes

Story Name: something to do with wishes

Genre: undecided

Rating: undetermined

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Everyone wishes. Different wishes crop up depending on a situation but many of them crop up all the time. 'I wish I could run faster', 'I wish I could see in the dark', 'I wish I could fly', 'I wish I could move things with my mind', 'I wish I had an extra pair of hands', 'I wish I could be in two places at once'.

What would happen if you had the power to make these wishes come true?

Harry could.

Six year old Harry ran as fast as he could, feet pounding against the floor as his cousin and gang followed behind him cheering and shouting. Harry gasped for breath, not daring to look back. He knew he couldn't out run them. Pierce was so much faster. He would catch up eventually.

'_I wish I could run faster!_' Harry thought desperately. He gasped slightly as a strange warmth spread through him, flowing to every inch of his body. Suddenly he began to pick up speed. He glanced behind him slightly and smirked as he realised he was getting further and further from his cousin. He turned back and carried on running. He ran around the block of houses and paused to catch his breath and watched as Dudley and his gang tried to catch up.

When they got too close for comfort Harry took off again, running down the other side of the houses until he got to a short ally that took him back onto the road he had been on before. He quickly sped home and slipped in through the back door, picking up his list of chores and getting started on them before Aunt Petunia got angry at him.

A few days later Harry was scrubbing the floor, still thinking about his sudden speed boost from before. He had no idea what had happened. Of course when Dudley complained to Uncle Vernon about it he'd gotten the worst beating yet but still...

Harry growled and scrubbed at the floor harder. He had no idea what this was stuck to the floor but it wasn't coming out and if he didn't get it all clean by the time the Dursleys got back from dinner he would be in so much trouble. Harry sighed. '_I wish I had four arms. Then I could use four brushes instead of two._'

He gasped as the same warmth as before spread through his chest and yelped loudly as a sharp burning spread across his back. He grimaced and whimpered. He could feel bones in his back growing and sprouting from nowhere. He felt the skin under his arms stretch and pull. He tentatively pulled his shirt off and watched as two long, pink shapes sprouted from his sides, just under his arms. The shapes then stopped growing outwards and then started growing hands

Harry stared in shock and horror at the second pair or arms that had now sprouted beneath his own. '_Uncle Vernon is going to kill me_.' He thought. '_No. I won't let him see. He won't be able to see them under my shirt anyway._' Harry nodded once sharply and pulled the shirt on, for once glad of Dudley's huge size.

He smiled when he realised the second pair of arms could fit through the sleeves with his first pair, as he was wearing a short sleeve today. He quickly grabbed two more brushes and scrubbed at the floor. He had barely finished and hidden his arms when the Dursleys got back. Harry quickly his himself in his cupboard and bit his lip slightly.

'_That's the second time I've done something weird like that. What happened?_' He thought back to what had happened each time. Both times there was that strange warmth that spread through him seconds before those strange things happened. '_Maybe that's my freakishness... that's what makes me a freak._' It made sense. Normal people certainly couldn't do what he did.

Harry bit his lip slightly. _'I wonder what else I can do?_' He looked around his cupboard and sighed. He couldn't think of anything at the moment. Moments later the Dursleys headed off to bed and Vernon turned off the light to the cupboard. Harry bit back a whimper. '_I wish I could see in the dark._' Harry closed his eyes as the warmth spread through him and when he opened his eyes he could see in the cupboard as clearly as he could when the light was on.

He grinned. '_I think I've got this. I wish I didn't need glasses._' He waited but the warmth didn't spread. Harry huffed and lay down. '_Never mind. I don't get it._' he lay on his side and curled onto his side and slid his glasses off, settling down to sleep.

It was a few days later that Harry used his power again. Dudley and his gang had caught him by surprise and pushed him down. His groaned and felt along the floor for his glasses before groaning again and the sound of shattering glass followed by laughing.

Dudley leant down. "I'm sorry Freak, did you need those?"

Harry huffed and lay on the ground as the bigger boys all began beating him up. Harry whimpered quietly but otherwise took the beating silently. When it was over Harry lay on the ground, looking around at the bleary smudges that was the world around him. '_I wish I didn't need glasses._' Harry gasped quietly as the warmth spread and the world suddenly came into sharp focus.

He smiled and looked at the mangled wreck of what was left of his glasses. _'Aunt Petunia is going to kill me._' Harry bit his lip as he sat up, wincing in pain. '_okay. First things first. I need to figure out how this freakishness works._' Harry thought back to the four times it worked and the one time it didn't. _'hmm... I wished I didn't need glasses twice but it only worked the second time... maybe I have to really want it to work?_'

He looked down at the wire frames and picked them up. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. '_I wish you were fixed._' He grinned as he felt the warmth flow and repair his glasses, all the tiny bits of glass flying back and settling back into the frame. He quickly put them on but frowned at how funny everything looked now. He took them off and frowned down at them, biting his lip. '_If Aunt Petunia knows I did my freakishness so I don't need glasses anymore then she'll be really upset with me... what if i made it so these didn't work like glasses, but like tiny windows instead?_' Harry thought hard about it and eventually felt the warmth swell up into the wire frames again.

He held them up over his eyes and smiled as they didn't make his vision all funny.

He slowly stood up, wincing at his bruised ribs and rubbed his lower arms over them. '_I wish I had healing powers_.' The warmth spread to Harry's hands and he grinned as he felt his ribs healing. '_I love being a freak._'

.oOo.

Harry looked to the side as the letter box clinked. He slipped out of the kitchen and picked the post up. He quickly flipped through the letters and paused at one with his name on. He grabbed it with his lower right arm before hiding it under his shirt. He gave the other letters to Uncle Vernon.

He silently accepted his list of chores from Aunt Petunia and decided to do the Laundry first today. While he was collecting all the sheets he heard Vernon leave for work and Dudley shot out the house to meet with his friends.

"Boy! I have to go to the store! Don't you dare do anything freakish!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia!"

"You had better have the kitchen tidy by the time I get back!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia!"

"And don't you even think about eating our food!"

"No Aunt Petunia!"

The door slammed and there was the sound of a car as Petunia drove down the driveway. Harry smirked and blurred slightly. Suddenly there were four Harry's in the room. The original Harry passed the pile of laundry to one of the doubles and Harry2 went downstairs. Harry1 followed and sat in the sitting room, pulling the letter out from his shirt and looking it over.

**Mr H. J. Potter**

**Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little whining**

**Surry.**

Harry hummed slightly and turned it over, ignoring Harry3 and Harry4 as they came down with the rest of the washing. There was a very nice wax seal on the back. Harry pulled up his power and enhanced his vision as he looked the seal over.

It was a shield with the letter 'H' in the middle and a badger, a lion, a snake and a raven in each of the four corners. He shrugged and let his eyesight go back to normal. He found that enhancing his vision for too long gives him a headache.

He popped the seal and pulled out the two bits of... whatever they were from inside. It was too thick to be paper. Felt different too. He shrugged again and opened them up.

The first one had the same crest as the seal on the back in colour in the top middle. Beneath it was big text,

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF**

**WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme  
Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Harry snorted. "Well, this guy's not full of himself."

He looked over the rest of the letter.

_Dear Mr Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
Yours Sincerely,  
__**Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress.**_

Harry raised an eyebrow. A quick look out the window showed an owl sitting on the roof of the house opposite.

Harry hummed. '_Maybe I have to reply?_' he shrugged and got out a pen and a sheet of paper. '_Dear Minerva McGonagall,  
Do you honestly believe I would believe this load of crap? Witchcraft and wizardry? Really? I admit you have gone to a good lot of trouble to make this seem authentic but I am not fool enough to believe in such a ridiculous hoax._

_**There is no such thing as magic!**_

_Yours sincerely,  
Harry Potter._'

Harry nodded. "That ought to get their attention. If there are other freaks like me about then they'll come help." He went out to the front garden and held out his arm. The owl flew over and settled down on his arm. He held the letter out to it. "To Minerva McGonagall. No one else." The owl seemed to nod as it too the letter in its beak and flew off. Harry shook his head and went back inside.

He found Harry2 still doing the laundry, having one load in the machine and ironing some of the washing from the day before. Harry3 was cleaning the kitchen and Harry4 was in the garden. "Alright lads. We don't have long now before Aunt Petunia get's back so let's be quick." A second later two more Harry's appeared. Soon, Harry1, Harry3, Harry5 and Harry6 were all scrubbing the kitchen down. The entire thing was spotless in seconds and Harry reabsorbed Harry5 and Harry6. Harry1 and Harry3 then went upstairs and quickly put clean sheets on the beds and double checked that there weren't any dirty clothes lying about.

Once sure of that he reabsorbed Harry3, went back down and looked at the clock. "Alright, Two! You'd better pack away the iron. I'll get to it later! Petunia will be home any minute!"

There was a sound of agreement from the other room and Harry quickly went into the garden, Reabsorbing Harry4 and quickly finished up the garden chores. Thankfully there wasn't much to do as he ended up doing all of these chores every day. He would paint the fence later. Harry2 came rushing out of the house and blurred into nonexistence as Harry reabsorbed him seconds before the sound of a car on the drive caught his attention. He smirked and carried on weeding, carefully looking over the memories of his clones.

Copying himself was something he developed a few years ago. The Dursleys left him alone in the house for the day while they went out and he realised his list of chores was too long. He would never get it done in time. His wishing powers had kicked in then and he gained the power to copy himself. It made doing chores a breeze as he could do lots of things at once. The only problem came from when he made too many or reabsorbed too many at once. It gave him a major headache.

That evening Harry was cooking dinner for the Dursleys when there was a knock at the door. Petunia went to answer it and shrieked. Harry quickly turned off the stove and followed Vernon and Dudley into the hallway to see what the matter was.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the woman standing on the doorstep. She had her hair done up in a tight bun and a fierce scowl on her face. Perhaps the strangest thing about her was the bottle green robes she was wearing.

Petunia finally managed to get over her initial shock. "Out! Get out of here! We don't want any of your kind here!"

The woman's lips narrowed into an extremely thin line and she scowled thunderously at Petunia. She pushed past her and stepped into the house, slamming the door behind her. "Petunia. I'm here about your nephew. Harry Potter."

Harry tilted his head. "Minerva McGonagall I assume?"

She frowned at him. "That's _Professor_ McGonagall, Mr Potter."

Harry nodded. "Sorry, _Professor_ McGonagall." He tilted his head. "Nice touch, training the owl to deliver the letter like that. But it doesn't change anything."

McGonagall scowled even harder. "Then perhaps a demonstration?" she pulled a stick out and waved it. The coat rack suddenly turned into an ostrich.

Harry raised an eyebrow and unobtrusively slipped his lower arms out of his sleeves. He placed his lower hands on his hips and help his upper right elbow with his upper left hand. He took his glasses off and hummed as he examined the bird-that-was-a-coat-hanger.

"Hmm... alright. That is hard to explain..."

The woman nodded and turned the coat hanger back before turning to face Harry. She seemed to freeze up. Harry winked and hid his arms back inside his shirt.

"It still doesn't prove that... magic exists though. It just shows you're a freak, like me." He almost spat the word magic out. That proved to be a mistake as the woman flipped out.

"Freak? A Freak?! That's what you think you are?" She rounded on Petunia. "What have you been telling him? Didn't you tell him about Lily and James at all? About what he is? About his world? He's famous around the entire globe! How could you not tell him about any of this?!"

Petunia puffed up. "I didn't ask for the little freak! You want him? Have him! But he's not coming back here!" she turned to him. "Boy! Get your things!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't have any 'things'. Freaks aren't allowed toys or books or clothes or food or showers or-"

"Enough!" Vernon roared.

But the damage had been done. The woman narrowed her eyes. "You will be hearing from us again, Mister Dursley. Don't try to run. We will find you." she turned back to Harry. "Come on Harry."

Harry shrugged and followed her out. They walked for a little while down the road before she turned to him. "Harry... your arms..."

Harry nodded. "I have four of them. My freakishness did it a few years back."


	23. Harry Potter, Naruto Crossover

Story Name: untitled

Genre: Family/Friendship

Rating: T/M

Category: Harry Potter, Naruto Crossover

* * *

4th summons death. Makes deal. At that exact moment Harry get's attacked by Voldemort. Death gets distracted, ends up tearing Kyubi exactly in half and seals half in Harry and half in Naruto. Uses ancient spell to seal souls of Minato and Kushina in Harry and Naruto instead of taking their souls himself.

Naruto and Harry grow up knowing each other and sharing a mindscape with each other and Minato and Kushina. Both keep it a secret from everyone.

Harry secretly trains in ninja arts and they discover Naruto can do magic. Both boys train in wandless magic but Naruto keeps his magic a secret from everyone.

Fifth year, Dumbledore hires ninjas. Naruto told Tsunade that he knows of the outerworld so she talks to him. He accepts and suggests a team to take. Naruto is team leader.

.oOo.

Naruto and his team stood in the kitchen of Grimmauld place. They stared blankly at the old man waving his arms around and speaking with exaggerated care in a language that only Naruto could speak. He barely withheld a smile as the old man made more and more of a fool of himself.

"_Can anyone understand this guy?_"

"_I can. But I like watching him make a fool of himself._" They waited for several more minutes before a voice called behind them.

"_Shinobi. Report in._"

The shinobi immediately turned around and Naruto spoke first. "_Team leader, Chunin, Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for duty._"

"_Tokubetsu Jōnin Mitarashi Anko, reporting for duty_."

"_Jōnin Yūhi Kurenai, reporting for duty._"

"_Chūnin Yamanaka Taichi, reporting for duty._"

"_Chūnin Inuzuka Hana and the Haimaru Brothers, reporting for duty._"

"_Chūnin Nara Shikamaru, reporting for duty._"

"_Chūnin Kamizuki Izumo, reporting for duty._"

"_Chūnin Hagane Kotetsu, reporting for duty_."

"_Tokubetsu Chūnin Kurotage Mina, reporting for duty_."

"_Tokubetsu Chūnin Kurotage Nina, reporting for duty_."

"_Welcome, shinobi and kunoichi. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is complex and varying. Many parts of it are missions in themselves but are also covers for other parts. This mission may take at least a year, if not longer and there is a high chance you will not live to return home._"

Naruto smirked. "_We're ninja. It's an occupational hazard._"

Harry nodded to him. "_It is at that._" He held up a pile of folders. "_I have here a number of profiles on our enemies. These are the people I need you to take out. Some quietly, make it look like an accident, some, not so quietly. All the information is in the folder._" He handed them out. "_One entry in there is of a man here at the moment. The Uchiha lookalike over there. Poison master Hebi Kibishīdesu._"

The shinobi all turned to see Snape frowning and looking at them suspitously.

Naruto nodded. "_He does look like an Uchiha._"

"_The reason he is in the folder is because he is our spy. The enemy believe he works for them but I can say, with absolute certainty, that he is loyal to us. There is more to him that what is in the folder. What is in there is only what the enemy knows. I know more but in the slight chance they get a hold of one of those folders, I haven't put more in._"

The shinobi all nodded. Naruto accepted the one that was passed to him and flipped it over, skimming the faces and information he already knew. "_What will each of us be doing while we are here?_"

"_You will all have different tasks. Naruto, you will have shadow clones placed in various locations, keeping an eye out on the underground. You will keep an eye out for some of the targets and take them out as and when you can. A few of them will need to be henged as Naruko and infiltrate a few brothels to gather information. You know how right?_"

"_Yeah. It wouldn't be the first time._"

The others looked at Naruto. Shikamaru scrunched his nose. "_You've whored yourself for information?_"

Naruto shook his head. "_No, I know some techniques that allow me to interrogate people but they leave thinking they've had the best fuck of their life. It uses an Uzumaki kekegenkai though. Otherwise I would have written it down and had it taught to every konoichi in Konoha."_

Shikamaru nodded. "_Oh. Right. Okay._"

Harry nodded. "_Taichi and Kurenai you are tasked with the capture, interrogation and assisination of everyone marked 'assasinate' in the folder. Anko, you are to track down and kill anyone with the mark 'Kill on sight'. The highest priority is a man named Greyback Fenrir. This is important. Any marked with a crescent moon in the folder is a werewolf. Do not approach during the full moon. Greyback is highly dangerous and the sooner you kill him the better._"

Harry then turned to Hana. "_Your job is one of the hardest. The man there, sandy blond hair, smells like a wolf, that's Lupin Remus. You will be working with him and travelling around the werewolf packs. Your job is to convince them to stay out of the war. He is trying to convince them to fight for us, Greyback is forcing them to fight for the enemy. You need to work with Remus to convince them to stay out of the fight entirely._" Hanna nodded.

"_Kotetsu, Izumo, you will be working with the two identical redheads over there. Itachi Fred and George. You will be working on trapping with them. They are the current prankster kings of the academy we go to. Make use of that. We need you four to come up with anything that can delay of incapacitate the enemy before they even get to us._" Izumo and Kotetsu high fived each other and turned to grin and flash a thumbs up at the Weasley twins.

"_Mina, Nina, Shikamaru and Naruto. You will be tasked as Guards at the school. You will have a uniform which will completely conceal your identity. Naruto, you can make as many clones as you need, in addition to those placed elsewhere. Can you manage?"_

Naruto nodded. "_Yeah. I should be fine, so long as not too many get dispelled at once. Guard duty won't be too hard._"

Harry nodded. "_Good. Mostly you will be patrolling the perimeters. But there are a few secret passages you will need to cover. We don't want to block them since they can be an escape route if needed_."

Dumbledore stepped forwards. "Harry, my boy, what are you saying to them?"

"What I need to. _Now, do you all accep this mission?_" there was a corous of 'hai!' and Harry nodded. "_Good. I have here some pendants that will allow you to understand what we are saying. Though when you speek it will come out with a heavy accent and if you speak to softly or too fast you may be asked to repeat yourself._" Harry handed out a necklace to each. "_Wear it on the inside. If any of you are in danger the pendant will heat up. They will also bring you here if you are injured to the point of being unable to fight. Kind of like a forced summoning but I can tell you now, the feeling is not pleasant. So don't get hurt._"

They all nodded and put the pendants on.

Harry stepped around them so his back was now to the rest of the room. "_Now, allow mw to introduce everyone. This is the owner of the house. Kuro Sirius. Current head of the Kuro Clan. He is currently a wanted criminal for a crime he didn't commit. He was framed but without the one who framed him we cannot prove his innocence. Yet. I'm working on it._" Harry looked over. "Say hi, Sirius."

Sirius blinked. "Um... Hi?"

"_This is Itachi Arthur. Current head of the Itachi Clan. This is his wife, Molly, their oldest son, Bill, second oldest Charlie, Fourth and fifth oldest Fred and George, Sixth oldest Ron and seventh child and only daughter Ginny._" The Weasleys all nodded and waved. "_Fred, George, Ron and Ginny all attend the academy. They have another son but are not on speaking terms with him. He graduated the academy two years ago. This is Lupin Remus. He's a werewolf and a member of my family._"

Remus waved again.

Harry ten pointed to each in turn introducing them to the shinobi. "_And finally Poison master Hebi Kibishīdesu. He is one of the Sensei at the Academy. He teaches Poisons and antidotes among other things of that nature._"

Naruto snickered. "_It's a fitting name._"

Harry smiled. Kibishīdesu. Severe. Hebi. Snake. He looked at Snape. "I've told them your name is Kibishīdesu Hebi. It litteraly translates as Severe Snake. It was the closest I could get." He glanced to the side. "Also, watch out for the purple haired chick. She is liable to try and jump you. If she does, you will need a permanent ward at St Mungo's. They had to mercy kill her last lover. He was a war hardened, seasoned warrior who had been on the front lines of battle more than once and she broke him. She's... kinky... dangerously kinky. And a masochist. She will literally get off on watching you scream."

Snape eyed Anko warily and the woman grinned and winked at him. He shuddered slightly and turned away.

"Everyone, this is Naruto Uzumaki, the team leader and a Chūnin in rank. Anko Mitarashi who is a Special Jōnin and Kurenai Yūhi who is a Jōnin. They are the highest ranking officers. These are Special Chūnin Mina and Nina Kurotage and these are Chūnin Hana Inuzuka with her nindogs, the Haimaru Brothers, Shikamaru Nara. These last two are Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, who are the most experienced of the Chūnin. I'm sure they could be Jōnin if they tried but they've never taken the exam."

The order all awkwardly waved at the shinobi. Sirius tilted his head. "Since when can you speak that language?"

Harry shrugged. "I've always spoken it."

Naruto nodded. "Harry's just awesome like that." He spoke in perfect English.

Harry smirked. "Thanks fox face."

"Who are you calling fox face, scar head?"

"Oh you're calling me scar head? That is pot calling kettle black, little fox."

"Hey, that is a battle scar from an epic battle!"

"So's mine."

"You were a baby."

"You were three."

"Ma, ma, calm down you two." Kurenai stepped up. "You are making a scene." She spoke with a heavy Japanese accent.

Sirius frowned. "How come she has an accent and you don't?"

Naruto smirked. "I do, it's just not as obvious as hers. I've been speaking English for a long time. They are using an enchanted necklace to be able to understand and speak English."

Harry nodded. "I would have made the potion but I couldn't get the ingredients. Next time we go to Diagon I can get some of them and have Gringotts buy the rest."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "You are going to brew them a potion. That you are expecting them to drink? I will brew it Potter. I don't trust you not to poison them."

Harry frowned but shrugged. Nothing he could say would change the man's mind and it would save him the trouble.


	24. House Elves Curse

Story Name: The House Elves Curse

Genre: undecided

Rating: undetermined

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Set at end of second year.

Dobby jumps in front of Harry to block killing curse cast by Lucius Malfoy. Bright white light and suddenly Dobby is seven feet, slim, waist length black hair. Elf.

Old debt.

In ancient times elves and humans were kind of friends. Wizard saved the life of an elf but Elves dismissed it as nothing. Humans were worthless. Vengeful wizard curses entire race to be slaves to humans until debt is paid.

A life debt cannot be owed between blood relations, spouses or anyone sworn to the other by a magical vow of any kind. A debt cannot be owed if the saver knew about the situation before it happened. The saver must put their own life in danger to save the endangered. They cannot save them with the intention of gaining something in return.

A life debt is repaid in the same way with the same requirements. If it is unpaid the debt is passed down through generations until it is paid off.

.

Dobby turns out to be Elf Royalty and is crowned king of the elves, in half due to heritage and half due to being the one to free them. Elves remember old history and the debt once the curse is broken.


	25. naruto time travel

Story Name: Unknown

Genre: Unknown (possibly friendship/something?)

Rating: K+/T? (Nothing too graphic so not M)

Category: Naruto

Naruto gets sent back in time with kyubi.

Makes friends with Sakura and Sasuke early.

When starts school makes friends with other heirs. "Hey, I'm the heir of the Uzumaki clan so we'll have to work together when we're older, right? Besides, we might be on the same team when we graduate or when we're chūnin or Jōnin."

Naru, Sakura and Sasuke train in Uzumaki training ground. Old manor owned by Mito Uzumaki.

Invite others to train with them. All of them get really strong but hide it from teachers and ANBU.

Hokage finds them.

Naruto convinces him to graduate them as genin but keep them all in the academy for a while so the council and Danzo don't get their hands on them.

All are given uniform similar to ANBU and go on missions as 'junior ANBU' with an ANBU as their 'Jōnin sensei'.

When graduate from academy already in their teams. Jōnin senseis filled in on situation and council angry at being duped.

Danzo attempts to kidnap Naruto. Naruto kills him in self-defence.


	26. uzumaki clan

Story Name: Something with Uzumaki in it.

Genre: Unknown

Rating: T/M

Category: Naruto

Kyubi married into Uzumaki clan when it was being formed and again 100 years later, then 90 years after that. Uzumaki clan holds several kekegenkai and blood line quirks.

What's a bloodline quirk? How is it different to a bloodline limit?

Well, a blood line limit is a genetic ability, like the Sharingan or the byakugan.

A bloodline quirk is something else passed down through generations that isn't technically a bloodline limit.

Example, all Nara males are incredibly lazy but are the smartest people in the village and have a tendency to marry violent, aggressive women who are the only people to be able to get them up and doing something they don't want to or are putting off. It's not a bloodline limit but it is something that is passed down to everyone in the family.

Additionally, a bloodline limit needs to be trained or awakened and not everyone in the clan can awaken it, like the rinengan. A bloodline quirk is something they all possess without any amount of training.

Uzumaki bloodline quirks:

Ungodly chakra reserves

Enhanced senses

Enhanced healing factor

Henge is a physical transformation, rather than an illusion

Natural ability to speak fox and any aquatic creature language

Can hold breath under water for several hours without using chakra

Hyperactive and overly excitable, capable of complete switch into seriousness

Easy to like and natural charisma. (Like when Naruto convinced Pain to give his life to bring back everyone in Konoha)

Women have violent tempers/Men are relentless pranksters.

Inherent affinity to seals

Uzumaki bloodline limits:

Chakra chains

Rinengan

Water bending

Ability to summon and control storms

(water/air) Ice  
(Water/lightning) Plasma style  
(Water/Earth) Wood  
(Water/Fire) Smoke/Steam/Scalding fog/Boiling water instead of regular water when using water style

Breathing under water

Shape shifting

(contract with fox, turtle, dolphin, shark and sea dragon)

Naruto learns; Chakra Chains and minor Shape Shifting abilities. More advanced ones later.  
Signs contracts with Fox and Dolphin contracts. Wants to sign with sharks next but needs to prove himself in battle. Signs after either battle with Zabuza or Kizame.  
Elemental Afinity. Primary, Water. Secondary, Lightning. Third, Air.  
Capable of Plasma Style and later limited abilities with ice. Nowhere near Haku's level.

People of Konoha think Uchiha are the best and choose to ignore the Uzumaki reputation after the massacre while Kushina was young. Ignored it further after Naruto was born.

Kyubi tells Naruto his family history and teaches him Uzumaki techniques. Fakes being bad in academy. Takes design for Uzumaki clan genin uniform to Tenten's shop after graduating from the academy. Makes friends. Commissions number of weapons.

Turns up to first team 7 meeting early and wearing new uniform with Benihime strapped to his waist, sets traps over entire training ground, leaves Shadow Clones around unnoticed.

Sakura and Sasuke don't notice him. Kakashi shows up and sighs, saying they can't pass since Naruto didn't show up.

"Speak for yourself, I've been here long before they showed up." Steps out from behind wooden stump.

Sasuke "Dobe... What are you wearing?"

Naruto "It's the Uzumaki Clan genin uniform."

Sakura "You don't have a clan Naruto-Baka!"

Naruto "Ever heard of Uzushiogekure no sato?"

Sakura "What?"

Kakashi. "Uzushiogakure no sato, or Uzugakure, the village hidden in the worldpools, was a village with an eternal allegiance to Konoha. We have their village symbol on the back of every chūnin and jōnin jacket." Turns to show them spiral. "It was the home of the Uzumaki clan until the massacre about forty years ago."

Naruto nods. "I'm the only Uzumaki left in the village. As far as I've been able to find out, there's a missing nin in rain, a girl our age in grass, as well as Tsunade of the Legendary Sanin, thru her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's wife."

Kakashi gets them back on track and starts the test. Sasuke and Sakura run off to hide but Naruto clones shushin them to a safer place, not full of traps and explain the point of the exam, making sure Sasuke knows he won't be able to land a kit on a former ANBU captain. Eventually agree to the plan when Naruto tells them they won't pass unless they work together.

Naruto distracts Kakashi with Benihime and clones while two clones Henge as bells and use a substitution to replace the bells on Kakashi's hip.

Kakashi tries to fail them at the end since Naruto didn't get a bell and Sakura and Sasuke didn't even show up. Sakura and Sasuke hold out a bell and explain what Naruto had done.

Kakashi has to pass them.

All go to eat out to celebrate.

Naruto uses seals to fix apartment complex, fix utilities, make community rooms downstairs, add extra rooms on each floor using expansion seals and adds furniture to each one making each floor a different type of apartment. Family apartments closer to the ground, singles apartments closer to top.

Collects homeless people off streets and gives them a place to live while they look for jobs and such.

A couple of women find out Naruto is last of the Uzumaki clan and keep offering to help him rebuild his clan. Naruto is unsure. By the time he graduates academy he's legally married three of them and uses a henge to make himself an adult while 'repopulating' (Won't go into detail 'cus I can't write that kind of stuff)

Team 7 goes to visit one day when Naruto is late and are surprised by everything, are greeted by heavily pregnant wife. Naruto then comes in and has to explain everything.

On mission to wave Naruto takes out Demon Brothers with Chakra chains and stores the bodies in a scroll.

Zabuza recognises Uzumaki clan symbol and calls a retreat. Naruto asks him why he's working for Gato and Zabuza explains situation. Naruto points out that Mizukage is a Jinchuriki. Offers assistance, for a fee. Freedom of wave, for Zabuza and Haku becoming Konoha Shinobi and rebuilding the Yuki Clan in Konoha, loyal to Konoha not Wave.

Both agree without hesitation. Come up with plan.

Zabuza, Haku and Kakashi go to Gato's hide out and kill Gato and his men. Take a share of the money and treasures each. Kakashi finds a bunch of items that belong to the Uzumaki clan. Give the rest of the money to the mist and they finish bridge.


	27. Dragon Singer

Story name: Dragon Singer

Genre: General?

Rating: K+/T

Category: Dragon Riders of Pern

* * *

takes place during the feast after Elgion arrives. this was a continuation of Menolly's Fair that i decided to turn into a different story since it didn't fit with what i wanted from that one.

* * *

She extended her mind to him. "_I apologise for her, she's a bit bored down here in the hall._"

"_**She is fine. I do not mind sharing my food. I am not really hungry**__._"

"_Careful, if you share with her you'll end up sharing with all of my fair. Twenty seven in all._"

"_**Twenty seven? Really? The Weyrleader is looking for Firelizard eggs. If you find more, let us know**__.__** I am Monarth, T'gellan's bronze. Who are you?**_" The words were accompanied with a mental image of Monarth, a bronze, and his rider T'gellan.

"_Menolly_." She sent him a mental representation of her.

"_Monarth, remind me to not let S'van trade duties with me. I would have preferred Watch duty to this. The Sea Holder here is so uptight._"

Menolly blinked slightly at the new voice, almost on reflex adding, "_Tell me about it. You think he's bad now, just try living with him._"

There was mental silence for a moment. "_Who is this?_"

"_**That's the Dragon Singer. She has many Firelizards.**_"

"_Dragon Singer?_" T'gellan asked.

"_I suppose I am._" Menolly smiled at the name, for she did have a lot of Firelizards and she did love to sing, which she kind of conveyed in the mental image of her she sent Monarth.

"_How unusual... Dragons don't normally speak with anyone and even when they do they use a generic term... they only give nicknames to the people they actually like._"

Menolly grinned, showing her happiness across their connexion. "_Well then, I thank you for the honour, Monarth._"

"_**You are interesting.**_"

Menolly snapped back to attention as Old Uncle opened his mouth to shout something to the Harper only for Menolly to shove a Seaweed ball into his mouth.

"_Have you ever been searched?_"

"_No one get's searched in Half-Circle Sea Hold._"

"_But still, would you like to come to the Weyr? At least to visit, the Dragons would like that._"

"_**I would like it very much, Dragon Singer.**_"

Menolly bit her lip slightly. "_Perhaps one day. For now I have my duties to my Hold and family._"

"_I await the day you accept my invitation, Dragon Singer. I'm sure Monarth will keep an ear out for you._"

Menolly grinned despite herself and sent her thanks across the connection, backing off again as Old Uncle finished his Seaweed ball. She turned her attention towards Harper Elgion, who was now playing a lovely tune and paled when she realised he was being accompanied by her firelizards. She quickly shushed them but noticed Elgion looking up at the ceiling, frowning slightly as he played. They hadn't been too loud but a keen ear like a Harper would have been able to hear them easily.

She sent them another reprimand and shooed them off to the cave. They left with a tiny bit of grumbling but thankfully the sound was covered by the hall's applause at the end of the song. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly until she ran out of seaweed balls for Old Uncle. Typical Sella, not giving her enough to last the evening.

She escorted the Old Man from the Hall before he could disgrace her and led him up to bed. "Come now Old Uncle, if you stay up much longer you won't be able to sleep tonight and you'll get up late tomorrow. It'll have you sleeping at odd times all week. Now come along."

.oOo.

T'gellan frowned at the conversation he'd had with Dragon Singer. She was unusual and he didn't lie that dragons never named anyone. If they had to talk about someone who wasn't a Dragonrider they called them by title or occupation, things like Holder, Harper, Healer. Never by name, Shards, even other rider's were only called Canth's Rider or Victorith's rider. Very, very, few people were given a nickname. It meant that the dragons would remember them. Dragons notoriously had a terrible memory and would forget things only days after they'd happened. For them to remember someone was...

"Everything alright, Dragonrider?"

T'gellan forced a smile to his face and turned to face Sea Holder Yanus. "Yes, of course. I was simply talking to Monarth, he's sensed someone of interest in the hold."

"A future rider?" Mavi asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Ah, from what I gather she has no interest in being a rider but she definitely interests Monarth."

"She?" Yanus asked. "Girls can't be Dragonriders. Except for Queen riders of course."

T'gellan raised an eyebrow. "Not so. In the records there are plenty of female riders mentioned. They ride Greens and Queens. The men fly Bronze, Brown and Blue."

Yanus frowned. "It's not right that women should try to be Dragonriders. Leave it up to the men, send them off to the kitchens and other work." He crossed his arms and nodded as if he was imparting some great knowledge.

Elgion frowned. "I know plenty of girls who would be good Harpers, just as I'm sure there are plenty of women who would be good Dragonriders, or fishermen, or crafters of any kind. You shouldn't speak so poorly of women."

Yanus scowled. "Girls can't be Harpers and they most certainly cannot be fishermen! Not in this Hold or any other!"

T'gellan frowned again. "How you run your Hold is up to you but I don't really think you can say anything for the other Holds, and you certainly cannot speak for the Weyr."

Yanus growled and Elgion gave a kind of nervous chuckle. "Hey now, enough arguing." He struck up a new tune. "This should be a time for merriment, not such serious conversations." He looked really uncomfortable.

T'gellan stood up. "Regardless, I should get back to the Weyr, I should have been back hours ago. It was very nice of you to invite me to dinner, Sea Holder, and the meal was lovely."

Yanus gave a very strained smiled. "It was an honour to have you here, Bronzerider. We do hope you come and visit again."

T'gellan nodded. "I'm sure I will. Monarth seems very interested in this girl so I'm sure he will want to come back." "_Monarth, send word to the Weyr to keep an eye on Half-Circle Sea Hold. I fear our Dragon Singer may be mistreated here and until I can persuade her to come to the Weyr we'll have to be careful._"

"_**I have told. They will help.**_"

.oOo.

Menolly scowled as she helped gut the fish from the haul. How she detested packtails. They tasted great but they were the worst to work with. Mavi was keeping her busy every second of the day now, far away from Elgion. The past few weeks have been rather exiting. She spent as much time out of the hold as possible and found a couple of Firelizard clutches while she was looking for grasses. One of them was a Queens nest but the others were greens and had been abandoned.

Monarth had told her that the Weyrleader was looking for Firelizard Clutches and she'd sent a mental picture via one of her fair and hidden, watching as a Rider appeared and collected the eggs. They knew she was there but they couldn't see her, hidden as she was in cliff caves.

T'gellan collected the first clutch. "You know, you are wasted in a Hold. The other riders agree. The dragons don't stop talking about you, Dragon Singer. If you want to come to the Weyr, Ramoth's Clutch is going to hatch soon. You could at least visit for the Hatching!"

"_Perhaps, Bronzerider._" She conveyed mentally to which he laughed and climbed back onto Monarth, disappearing _Between_ with the Firelizard clutch safely in a set of bags.

The second clutch was collected by a Brownrider. "So, T'gellan said he's invited you to the Hatching. You should come. The dragons are all exited to meet you. They don't get excited about many people. You would make a good rider."

"_I don't really want to be a Dragonrider. I do love dragons but the duties of a rider just aren't my thing. I'm more or a Harper._"

The rider looked around, trying to see her, clearly surprised she could speak to him with her mind. "Well, you wouldn't be the first Harper who was also a Dragonrider. The Weyrs need Harpers too."

The Third clutch was collected by T'gellan again. "You would not believe the fuss people are making over who gets to come and collect the Clutches you find. Three in so short a space of time? That's more than anyone else since we discovered the little blighters. They Weyr leader eventually had to step in and sent me before I fight broke out. And everyone wants to see for themselves the Dragon Singer, the girl who can talk like a dragon."

"_You could too if you tried. Just reach your mind out to someone like you would with your dragon. It's not hard._"

T'gellan snorted. "I'll take your word for it, and surly I'll try. But I'm not expecting much success."

"_If you think you can't do it, you won't be able to. Your mind creates its own limitations. You can think to your dragon fine, and Monarth can bespeak any other dragon. Your minds are linked so it would stand to reason that you can do it too, just as my Firelizards let me do it._"

"Pretty wise words. Alright. I'll keep an open mind. So, are you coming to the Hatching?"

"_I'll think about it._"

"Stubborn girl." He grinned as he spoke, taking the edge off his words.

"_I found a Queens clutch, but she won't even let my Fair close, let alone me. If the tide rises her clutch will be in danger and will let us close to the eggs then, just to get them to safety, but until then, we can't go near._"

"Well, thanks for the heads up. We'll keep an ear out for your call."

Menolly watched him vanish and climbed out of the cliff cave. She'd found loads of them and had been widening the openings, making them easy escape points should she ever get caught out during threadfall. She had been delighted to find out that the caves near her original one all interconnected inside and with a few holes poked in the Cliffside it made a good underground cavern system, at least where she could see.

Menolly was shocked back into focus as the knife in her hand slipped and she cut a gash into her hand. "Shards!" she dropped both the fish she was gutting and the knife she was holding and put everything she had into keeping her Firelizards in the cave.

"Oh Menolly, what have you done now?" Sella stomped over and dragged Menolly away. "Mavi! Mavi!"

Menolly glance up at the Brown dragon circling the hold, who suddenly vanished Between. She felt his mind leave and realised he'd been watching her without her noticing, just how distracted was she today? She was dragged all the way up to her rooms where Mavi set to work on her hand.

Menolly gritted her teeth and focused on not letting her Firelizards come.

"Right then girl, hold your hand so." Mavi barked. She twisted Menolly's hand into position and let go of the tendon in her wrist. Menolly watched blood spurt out of it and briefly felt she might faint but turned her attention back to her Firelizards. She watched detachedly as Mavi fastened a tourniquet and laved the wound with a pungent herbal lotion. She then stitched the blood vessel and closed the long slice, all the while complaining. "Such a clumsy girl. Honestly. Well, you should keep some control of it, enough for practical purposes."

Menolly swallowed harshly. Practical purposes? "Won't I be able to play again?"

"Play? Your playing days are over, Menolly. Even if your fingers will work after that slice you won't be playing again."

She smothered the wound in quantities of salve and was about to swath it in cloth when the door burst open.

Menolly snapped back to attention from where she was sinking into horror.

The woman bustled over. "Alright, let's see what we have here shall we?"

Mavi stepped back lightly in shock and was pushed aside by this new woman. "What are you doing here?"

"The Dragon Singer was hurt, the dragons sent help. Why do you think there's always one here?" the woman tutted at her hand. "Honestly Mavi, I expected better work than this from you. Come now Dragon Singer, let me do this properly. If it's left to heal like that you'll be lucky to move this hand much at all and it'll scar quite badly."

Menolly blinked. "Who are you?"

"My name is Manora, I'm Headwoman at Benden Weyr. Mavi and I know each other from our days at Healer Hall, so forgive me dear if I'm stepping on feet, but the dragons demanded I be here and what the dragons want, the dragons get." She easily cleaned the wound out further and pulled some pots out of her bag. "Right then Dragon Singer, let's get this tended to. You're lucky you missed the tendons."

Menolly frowned. "Miss? Mavi just told me I wouldn't be able to move my fingers..." she cast a glance at Mavi who simply scowled and stomped out of the room. Menolly looked back to the woman, Manora. "How did you know?"

"Know what girl? About the tendons?"

"No, I mean, how did you know I was hurt? How do you know who I am? How did you know which room I'm in?"

Manora smiled. "The dragons have been keeping a close eye on you girl, they won't tell their riders who you are or what you look like because you don't want them to know, but between you and me I think it's become something of a game, first dragon whose rider sees you loses. I think sometimes the riders are in on it too. T'gellan brought me here today and I managed to convince him to have a quick word with Yanus, apologise for us popping in so suddenly and all. Now he has no idea where we are and I'm not about to let him just walk into a girl's room."

She stepped back and Menolly looked her hand over. She was no healer but even she could see that this was much better than what Mavi had done. "Thank you."

"Never mind your thanks girl, why did Mavi not heal this properly?"

Menolly looked over at her guitar. "She doesn't want me to play music."

Manora frowned. "So she'd disfigure your hand?"

"They really don't want me to play music. They think I bring disgrace to the Hold."

Manora scowled. "I will have to have a word with Mavi about that. Never you worry girl, you will always be welcome at Benden Weyr. Now then, I believe I have an entire Weyr's worth of dragons to calm down."

Menolly laughed. "Hold on." She closed her eyes briefly. "_Hello?_" a chorus of voices bloomed in her mind. "_Calm down, all of you. It's just a scratch and Manora's healed it up fine._"

"Goodness gracious you really can talk with your mind." Menolly grinned up at the woman who helped her lie down. "Now, you get some rest. I'll have my woman come and check on you tomorrow. Don't let anyone else near that hand. Your Firelizards can stay but make sure not to let them get you too excited."

Menolly laughed. "With twenty seven? I can't really help it."

Manora gaped. "Twenty seven?! Really?" she asked helping Menolly to drink Fellis laced wine.

"Mhmmm. Beauty, Rocky, Diver, Sharp-Shot, Swift," she broke out into a wide yawn, "Poll, Lazybones, Mimic," she yawned again, the next few names coming out in unintelligible mumbles before she slipped off into sleep.

When she woke next it was to a girl about her own age grinning down at her. "Twenty seven? Really? I have my hands full with just three."

Menolly grinned. "Wouldn't recommend trying it, but it was either that or let them fly out into Thread."

The girl chuckled and checked on Menolly's hand. "Well, this is going well. It'll be a few days before you can use it but you'll be fine."

Menolly smiled. "Can I get out of bed?"

The girl barked a laugh. "As long as you don't hurt yourself further or get any dirt in that wound I don't care what you do. You can stand, you can get up."

Menolly smiled. "Thanks all the same."

"Not a problem. The name's Mirrim by the way. Now, I'm off back to the Weyr. If you need anything, just call one of the dragons. See ya round, Dragon Singer!"

"It's Menolly!" Menolly called after her as she rushed from the room, laughing madly. Menolly smiled to herself and stroked Beauty's head. "Well then my Queen, shall we head off?" Beauty chirped in agreement and Menolly stood up. The rest of the fair popped back to the cave but Beauty stayed on Menolly's shoulder while she got dressed and headed out of her room.

She'd barely gotten to the end of the corridor when she spotted Mavi coming up the stairs. She stopped a good distance away so as to avoid any chance of getting pushed down them and sent a quick command to her Fair who popped into her room and grabbed her instruments, taking them _Between_ to her cave. "Mavi."

Mavi stared in shock at Beauty. "Is that..."

"A Queen Firelizard. Her name is Beauty. If you'll excuse me, I'm going for a walk. Some fresh air would do me good."

.oOo.

Everyone had been walking on eggshells around Menolly since the accident. Everyone was afraid to anger her in case she summoned the dragons. The kids and some adults quickly got over that fear so they could make a fuss of her Firelizards, though seemed wary of Menolly. Elgion seemed absolutely fascinated by them.

Menolly was again reminded that the Weyrs were looking for Firelizard eggs.

Once her hand was healed completely she set out with a bag of firs and food and spent a week walking and finding nests. She got to the extreme north edge of Keroon Bay and headed back again. She'd found a further five nests, two of which were Golds'. After two days back at Half-Circle she headed south and spent a week looking for eggs finding another four nests, all Greens'.

She camped out in a cave that night and was getting ready to leave that morning when Diver and Bubbles sent a message. They occasionally had competitions on who could dive the deepest in one breath without going _Between_. They'd found something on the sea bed. It was almost hidden under some rocks but they were easily able to slide it out and dragged it up to the surface. She sent some of the others to help them and soon they had the box on the surface. Menolly had to drag it ashore herself.

She looked around it and moved it about until she found the top edge and the clasp to open it. It was an unusual clasp for sure. She unclipped it and the lid popped up with a hiss. Menolly lifted the lip open and staggered back quickly, letting the stale air breathe for a moment before turning back to the box. She gasped, realising it was full of musical instruments. Some she'd never seen before. There were guitars, tiny guitars with only four strings, a four string instrument with a round drum and a long neck, various metal instruments she'd seen and oh! A silver flute! It was so intricately detailed. Only a master ever had one of these! There were sheets of music too, ones she'd never heard of and on some kind of... she had no idea what it was but they were crisp and white, the black ink easily visible. The line were so straight and precise, it must have been a master's work! There was also some kind of fabric at the bottom.

She closed the box and looked at her Fair. "Take this back to the cave. I'll look it over when we get there." They nodded in unison and all latched onto a different part of the box, vanishing _Between_ with a loud pop. Menolly closed her eyes, waiting for their re-entry and smiled three heartbeats later as she felt them return to this plain. It was an odd feeling, feeling a Firelizard go _Between_ like that. She guessed it was an extremely mild version of what a rider's dragon going between forever must feel like. Emphases on _extremely_.

She'd felt like that when Mavi told her that she'd never play again. It felt like a part of her had been taken away, robbed from her forever. Thankfully Manora had arrived and healed it up properly.

Menolly began the walk back home.

She spent a good week in her cave just playing music on the different instruments. There were a bunch of names for instruments above different sheets of music and one piece seemed to be an orchestral composition and Menolly was able to figure out, based on the different sounds each instrument made and putting them together in that piece, which instrument was which.

She was so excited to see them all and wanted to learn to play all of them before she caught herself. No, these had to go to Harper Hall. They belonged to the Harpers, not to some girl.

Menolly shook her head before looking at the materials. Many of them had clearly been used to wrap the instruments together and seemed to be a whole body outfit of some kind... it was made of a material she'd never seen before.

It was a greyish blue and kind of stretchy. One of them was her size so she put it on to see what it was like. It fit her like a glove and moved easily with her, not restricting her movements at all. She hummed, wondering what it could be. She shrugged, there were a few sets of it in the box so no one would miss this one if she decided to keep it and besides, it was just clothes.

Really old clothes that seemed to date back to the second crossing and had massive amounts of historical value, but clothes none the less.

She closed the box back up and her fair took it out of the cave onto the sand. It was far too big and heavy to try and carry down a cliff so _Between_ it was. She closed her eyes and found a blue dragon circling above Half-Circle. "_Hello._"

"_**Hello Dragon Singer. I am Traath.**_"

"_Hello Traath. Would you mind taking something to Harper Hall for me?_"

"_**Of course, Dragon Singer. Hold on, I come.**_"

A few moments later Traath landed on the beach and looked curiously down at the box. His rider slid off his back. "So, Dragon Singer, Traath tells me you need us to deliver something?" he looked around curiously, eyeing each of the caves.

"_That box contains musical instruments, some I've never seen before, and sheets of music I've never heard written on a material I've never seen. I believe the Masterharper would love to see it._"

The rider eyed the box. "Well, I'll see to it that it gets there safely then." Traath reached forwards and grabbed hold of the box, "Please be careful Traath."

"_**I will. Don't worry.**_"

The rider rolled his eyes and climbed back onto his dragon. "To the Harper Hall then. See you around Dragon Singer!"

A few moments later they were both gone _Between_. Menolly sighed and again wished that she was born a boy so she could join those instruments at Harper Hall. She climbed out of her cave and set off across the cliff top. There really was no real reason for her to stay here at Half-Circle. She knew her parents wanted her to be of use in the Hold but she couldn't live without music. At the Weyr she was sure she'd still be able to play, and no one would tell her she couldn't...

And it would be good to have her fair around with no need to hide them all.

The dragons all like her, and the riders have all said she'd be welcome any time...


	28. Menolly's Fair

Story name: Menolly's Fair

Genre: ?

Rating: K+/M

Category:

* * *

Menolly sighed as she trudged across the beach. It was good to be out of the hold. She grinned as she filled her bags with any spiderclaw she could see on the beach. There was a surprisingly large amount of them out today. By the time she got to the cove she was headed to all three of her bags were bulging. _The firelizards will love these._

She easily scaled the cliff and looked into the whole she's helped the queen stash her eggs in. "Hello?" she called softly. A bronze face poked out and looked at her before diving back inside. Menolly climbed onto the ledge properly and looked further into the hole. She noticed it was deeper than she thought and lay down, pushing herself further in. "Hello?" a quiet chirping was her only answer.

She crawled back out and pushed the three bags of spiderclaws in before crawling in herself. "Oh! Are they going to hatch?" she looked over the nest, where the whole fare was sitting, watching the nest. She quickly pulled out her knife and began to cut away at the spiderclaws. "They'll be hungry when they hatch." She threw the empty shells out, making sure not to waste any meat. She kept the legs and claws as she expected the babies would like to chew on them to get the flesh out. The firelizards had started humming quietly by the time she was finished. "I'll go get more."

She grabbed the two empty bags and slithered out, scaling down the cliff face and rushing towards the sea. There were an unusual amount of fish swimming around and the rocks were covered in spiderclaws, all fighting for space. She filled the two bags, de-shelling as she went before turning. She glanced up at the sky and paled when she spotted silver strands falling and bursts of red and orange.

"Thread." She whispered horrified.

She quickly scaled the cliff again, practically throwing the bags in and climbing inside herself, knocking the ledge down completely as she did so. "Oh fardles!" she looked back at the nest, where the eggs were now rocking and the fair was humming loudly. "Oh!" she gasped as one baby managed to poke a chip out of his egg and a bronze snout was poked out for a second.

Within moments another egg cracked enough to let out a foot. Soon all the eggs were riddled with cracks and bits of baby firelizard were poking out. Eventually a Bronze managed to work his way free of his egg and stumbled out of the nest. Menolly held out a piece of spiderclaw to him and he grabbed it happily.

She had no idea how long she sat there for, feeding the babies as they hatched, welcoming them all to the world and trying her hardest to not let them leave the cave. Soon all the tiny lizards were hatched, fed and curled up in the nest, sleeping. Menolly yawned wide and curled up around the nest, the fair of adults draping over her or curling up on the other side of the nest. A short nap couldn't hurt.

Menolly woke to a burning hunger and a lot of loud cheeping. She looked over the nest and realised the babies were all hungry. "Alright, hold on. I'll get you something."

She climbed out from under the few browns still sitting on her and grabbed her bags, leaving the nest. She looked over and spotted the queen sitting on a rock shouting at the bronzes as they dived into the water and caught fish. She laughed and walked over, sitting on a rock and looking down at the water. So many fish, what was going on? Was it the threadfall?

She shot her hand down and pulled a fish out of the water, quickly dropping it into her bag. Alemi had taught her that. She and the fair caught a load of fish and returned up to the cave, where they fed the babies. As soon as they were all fed her hunger dissipated to a manageable level and she realised she could feel what the babies could feel.

She sent feelings of love across the bond and settled back down, watching over them.

She stayed there for a week, watching the hatchlings. On the third day the Queen and her fair vanished, leaving Menolly alone with the hatchings. Not that she minded at all. By the end of the week she'd named them all.

It wasn't easy, what with Impressing a total of forty four all in all. There was two Golds (Beauty and Maga), seven Bronzes (Rocky, Diver, Poll, Sharpshot, Swift, Star and Lucky), nine Browns (Lazybones, Mimic, Brownie, Hazel, Scramble, Daredevil, Midget, Fidget and Arra), twelve Blues (Uncle, Cloud, Bubbles, Azimuth, Drifter, Sky, Fisher, Talon, Flotsam, Ember, Alta and Blue) and fourteen Greens (Sunny, Sandy, Pearl, Emerald, Jade, Digger, Jinx, Minx, Shelly, Nona, Ella, Melody, Aunty One and Aunty Two)

By the end of the week her Fair was catching all of their own food and Menolly was spending more time just making up tunes. It was good to be able to make music whenever she wanted, she knew her father...

Father...

"Shards! I haven't been home in a week!" Her fair looked to her in confusion. "I wasn't supposed to leave the Hold, we were due a Threadfall, I was a day out and thought Threadfall was the day after it had been..." she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "What am I gonna do..." she shook her head. "Well, I'll just have to face it. You guys all stay out here. No sense in letting you all get seen by them... I'll be back when I can!"

She ran back to the village after removing Midget from her shoulder. She slowed to a jog within sight of the hold and eventually slowed to a walk. She smiled hesitantly at those who greeted her happily.

"Good to see you girl!" "Where have you been?" "Are you alright?" "What were you doing out in Threadfall?" "Petiron's been looking for you!"

Menolly grinned and jogged to the school house to see the Hold Harper. "Petiron?"

The old man looked over and his face broke into a wide grin. "Menolly! So good to see you. I was worried."

She smiled. "I'm sorry. I was out for a walk and forgot Thread was due that day. I climbed into a cliff cave to avoid it but there was a rockslide. I was trapped in there. I only just managed to get out."

"Oh, you poor dear! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Really. I wasn't hurt. I had collected some greens along my walk so I didn't go hungry, much."

The old Harper smiled again. "As long as you are okay, I'm happy."

Menolly smiled, feeling bad for lying to him but she didn't want to expose her firelizards. That night she'd received a lecture from her mother, Mavi, and would have gotten a thrashing from her father, Sea Holder Yanus, but thankfully Mavi persuaded the man not too.

Menolly almost has a heart attack when her fair all popped into the room from _Between_ that night and curled up with her. The next few weeks passed in a simple routine. Her Fair would leave early in the morning, before anyone else, and she would go about her day as she had done before. Whenever she could she would slip away and spend time with them. She was delighted to learn they could mimic sounds easily and quickly taught them how to make music.

She shared all of her memories of music with them and by the end of the day they were able to imitate most instrument sounds and seemed to revel in the music they could sing together. Beauty had the highest range of singing, followed by the greens, blues, browns and then bronzes. There wasn't all that much of a difference though.

It was two weeks later that Petiron came down with his fever. Menolly spent most of her time nursing him. It was nearly a week later that Petiron turned to her. "Menolly. I fear I won't survive this fever. Can you promise me you'll not let go of your dreams? I'm sure you will be a great Harper. You just have to believe in yourself."

Menolly smiled slightly, her eyes watering. She nodded and sniffed. "I won't let you down." She felt her fair chittering in worry, feeling her emotions. A sudden thought came to her. "Have you ever seen a firelizard?"

Petiron frowned. "No. The legends allow that they exist but I've never seen one. I've told you this. Why do you ask?"

"Do you want to see one?" Menolly smiled. She grinned at the look on Petiron's face and with half a thought, Beauty popped into the room.

Petiron gasped his eyes widening at the sight. Menolly gently placed Beauty on the old Harper's lap and he reached out to gently stroke her head. "She's... oh..."

Menolly smiled gently. "Her name is Beauty. You know, I was right. Firelizards can go _Between_ like dragons. They _Impress_ when they hatch, like dragons do too, which is why people had them a long time ago. Somewhere along the lines, it must have been forgotten. Probably along with the interval. People stopped needing dragons so firelizards went out of fashion. People want them because they look like small dragons so if people don't like dragons, they won't want firelizards."

Petiron smiled slightly. "I guess so. It is a good theory, but you'll have to check the records to be sure."

Menolly nodded and looked over at Petiron's desk. "She can deliver a message for you if you like. To the Masterharper. He's your son, right?"

Petiron nodded. "Aye... alright girl. Get me my writing things."

Menolly nodded and gathered a tray and some writing things from Petiron's desk. She carefully set everything up for the aged Harper, making sure he was comfortable, before settling down on the foot of his bed. Rocky, Diver, Swift and Midget all popped in and settled down around her, Midget taking his usual place in her hair.

Petiron wrote out a long letter and rolled it up. "Do you have any more songs written down girl?"

Menolly smiled and walked over to his desk. "You know I do, Petiron. I write them all down." She found a few she'd written out and selected two to bring back over, two newer ones, about firelizards. "Here you are."

Petiron wrapped the songs around his letter and then looked at Beauty. "Now what?"

Menolly chuckled and looked at Beauty. "Just give her the roll and think hard about the Masterharper. She can get the image of his right from your mind." At least she hoped so. So far her fair had been able to go anywhere she pictured and they could carry things too.

Petiron held the roll out and Beauty took it in her forepaws. They stared at each other for several moments before Beauty leapt into the air and took off. Menolly closed her eyes and reached her mind out, to see where she'd gone.

"Well?"

Menolly smiled, seeing the inside of Harper Hall. Beauty dived down towards the Head Table and landed next to one of the men. She held out the roll and he took it off her. "She's delivered it to someone." The man opened up the roll and looked at all three sheets. He passed the two music sheets to the man on his left and started reading the letter. "It must be Master Robinton, he's reading the letter." She watched the delighted grin fall from his face, a serious expression replacing it only for stunned disbelief to replace it. He shook his head, a single tear escaping one eye as he read.

His lips moved silently, either mouthing the words or speaking too quietly for Beauty to hear. Menolly couldn't read his lips through a firelizards eye. Robinton took one hand off the letter and covered his mouth, shaking his head slightly before he stood up and left the dining hall, Beauty hopping onto his shoulder as he did so.

"What did you write? He seems really sad." She opened her eyes and looked at the old Harper.

He smiled sadly. "I told him I wouldn't make it through the winter." He didn't seem likely to tell her more than that and Menolly wasn't going to pry. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, Petiron just petting Rocky, when Beauty came back with a roll in her paws. "What's this?" Petiron took it from her and opened it up. "Ah, he wrote back."

Menolly sat rather awkwardly as Petiron read the letter.

Petiron smiled. "He's coming to visit."

It was two weeks after Menolly returned to the hold that Petiron came down with his fever and by week's end, passed away. She spent most of the day shut in her room with a guitar, writing (or twiddling as her father called it) her sorrows into music.

.oOo.

**Almost as if the elements, too, mourned the death of the gentle old Harper a southeaster blew for three days, locking even burial barge in the safety of the Dock Cavern.**

**The storm gave Sea Holder Yanus too much time to brood over his dilemma. It gave him time to speak to every man who could keep rhythm and pitch, and they all gave him the same answer. They couldn't properly honor the old Harper with his Deathsong, but Menolly could.**

**To which answer Yanus would grunt and stamp off. It rankled in his mind that he couldn't give voice to his dissatisfaction with that answer, and his frustration. Menolly was only a girl: too tall and lanky to be a proper girl at that. It galled him to have to admit that, unfortunately, she was the only person in the entire Half-Circle Sea Hold who could play any instrument as well as the old Harper. Her voice was true, her fingers clever on string, stick or pipe, and she knew the Deathsong. For all Yanus could be certain, the aggravating child had been practicing that song ever since old Petiron started burning with his fatal fever.**

He would be partially right, as Petiron had asked her to, and she had played it a few times but couldn't quite bear to practice it overmuch, as it gave rise to the feeling that her only human friend would not survive.

"**She will have to do the honor, Yanus." His wife, Mavi, told him the evening the storm began to slacken. "The important thing is that Petiron is properly sung to rest. One does not have to record who did the singing."**

"**The old man knew he was dying. Why didn't he instruct one of the men?"**

"**Because," replied Mavi with a touch of sharpness in her voice, "You would never spare him a man when there was fishing."**

"**There was young Tranilty..."**

"**Whom you sent fostering to Ista Sea Hold."**

"**Couldn't that young lad of Forolt's..."**

"**His voice is changing. Come Yanus, It'll have to be Menolly."**

**The next morning, the storm had cleared off; the skies were cloudless, the sea, calm. The burial barge had been outfitted in the Dock Cavern, Petiron's body wrapped in harper-blue on the tilter board. The entire Fleet and most of the Sea Hold followed in the wake of the oar-driven barge, out into the faster moving current above Nerat Deep. Menolly, on the barge prow, sang the elegy: her clear strong voice carrying back to the Half-Circle Fleet; the men chanting the descant as they rowed the barge.**

**On the final chord, Petiron went to his rest. Menolly bowed her head and let drum and stick slide from her fingers into the sea. How could she use them again when they had beaten Petiron's last song? She'd held back her tears since the Harper had died because she knew she had to be able to sing his elegy and you couldn't sing with a throat closed from crying. Now the tears ran down her cheeks, mingled with the sea spray: her sobs punctuated by the soft chant of the steersman, setting about.**

.oOo.

Menolly looked over the new Harper. He was sat up at the head table with her parents. She was sat next to Old Uncle with clear instructions to keep him quiet. She didn't particularly like that as it meant she had been as good as banished from the Hall entirely. She knew her parents didn't want her to be a Harper but they were being ridiculous about it now. Leave someone else to look after Old Uncle, it was tradition for all of the Sea Holder's family to be at the Head Table.

True to rumour the new Harper, Elgion she believed, was young and quite handsome, though Menolly wasn't particularly interested. She divided her attention between listening to the hall and keeping an eye on Old Uncle. The sweet seaweed balls Sella had given her were useful for keeping him quiet but if she wasn't careful he would choke on one or have too much time between them and say something.

From her position in the hall Menolly couldn't see the guests herself but thankfully she had eyes in the sky, her fair was perched in the rafters, out of sight but perfectly able to see the hall and it was through them that she could see Harper Elgion. The symbol on his shirt indicated him a Journeyman. He must be in training for his Mastery. Beside him was a Dragonrider. Beauty bespoke his dragon and she learned they had come down to check on the Hold earlier and make sure they were still on schedule with counting the Threadfalls, knowing sometimes in smaller Holds days could slip away. He had been invited to the feast and his dragon had been supplied with some fish and other small meats. He looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Menolly popped another seaweed ball into Old Uncle's mouth and grimaced slightly, noticing how soft and sticky they were getting. She couldn't put the bag down or all of the other Aunties and Uncles would take one but if she continued to hold them they'd melt together and she'd probably not be able to separate them.

She glanced around and noticed no one was looking her way and sent a quick thought to Midget. He popped from between right behind her head, hiding in her hair before anyone saw him. Thankfully no one heard the tiny pop and she surreptitiously slipped him the bag. He popped into _Between_ and back out again in the same place, and she took the now much cooler bag from him. _Thank the stars for Between!_

She cast her attention back to the hall as Elgion stood up and strummed his guitar, testing the pitch (the G-string was slightly out), "Are you sure this Hall isn't rocking?"

Menolly chuckled, guessing the gossip about him being sea-sick on the way here was true. She glanced at Old Uncle and realised he had just about finished the last Seaweed ball and so she extracted another and popped it into his mouth.

She chuckled with the rest of the hall when Elgion tuned his G-string and made the guitar moan like a seasick soul.

Her fair tittered quietly in the rafters and she sent them a mental reprimand to stay quiet.

Her father grimaced slightly. "Harper, surely you want to rest this evening. It has been a long journey after all."

One of the kids called out from their table. "Let Menolly play!"

"Oh! Yeah! Let Menolly play!"

"Menolly's the best!"

Menolly watched with equal amounts happiness and horror as the kids all soon started clamouring for her to play. As she looked around she realised it wasn't just the kids, the other men and women of the hold were nodding, a few adding their voice to the call.

Menolly felt her eyes tearing up slightly at the show of faith from everyone. She knew Yanus and Mavi were constantly saying she would disgrace the hold, everyone knew that. Everyone knew they didn't want her to play. Everyone knew they didn't want the new Harper to know she could play.

Everyone was doing it anyway.

Menolly stood up and walked over to Elgion. "May I borrow that?" she asked, pointing to his guitar.

"Of course." He smiled, holding it out to her.

Yanus stood up. "Now see here! No girl will be Harpering in this Hold!"

Menolly looked him right in the eye and strummed a few chords on the guitar, the beginning of a song she'd written a while ago, after she _impressed_ her Fair.

It was based on the sea so her father could hardly disapprove, though it was more occasional than shanty as there were no words. (Pirates of the Caribbean)

She could hear her Fair in the rafters but decided to let them sing. She wasn't going to stand for anything anymore and that included hiding her fair. Everyone else could learn to live with it.


	29. The Mute Harper

Story name: The Mute Harper

Genre: ?

Rating: K+/T

Category: Dragon Riders of Pern

* * *

Menolly watched from the back of the funeral barge as Petiron was sung to his final rest. While she could play better than anyone else in the Hold she was unable to sing the Deathsong. Without a voice, singing was impossible. She rested a hand on her harp and strummed a mournful cadence, harmony to the Deathsong.

The harp was a gift from Petiron. She knew he'd written to the Masterharper about her, and gotten this harp for her. She was able to use music to convey her emotions through it. Her fingers were never still, always playing, and if they weren't on her harp they were on some other instrument.

She could whistle well enough, even producing some ear piercingly loud ones if she desired and often simply whistled the tunes everyone else was singing, or else played her pipes, harp, fiddle, guitar or drum.

She also had nothing against writing songs with words.

She'd spent the past three days in Petiron's room composing a new song. 'Goodbye My Friend'. She actually liked writing new songs, most people would think she'd stick to composing music without words, and she did write more than a few of those, but she loved making songs, to put the words she couldn't say down into music that others could sing for her.

She made sure all the music she wrote was written down and stored in a wooden box in the bottom draw of Petiron's desk. The box was getting a bit too full now. She wouldn't be able to fit many more in.

When the boat docked she was the first off, harp still strumming and she watched as everyone readied the boats to sail out. The fishing would be good after three days of storm.

Menolly went straight to the teaching hall, waving all the children over from where Mavi was trying to organise them into work groups. They were used to her teaching them now, some even finding her methods 'super cool' due to her lack of speech. Menolly's harp strummed a welcome and the kids all called back. She stood at the front of the room and looked over the sheets in the rack, choosing a new one to teach. She nodded and quickly wrote the name on the board, and with one hand strumming the melody on her harp, she wrote the words too.

The kids behind her were repeating the lines over a few times as she wrote them to get used to the wording as Petiron had drilled into them. She then turned and stepped to the side so they could see the words. She strummed a sharp chord they all knew to mean 'attention' and they quieted down.

Menolly spotted Mavi standing in the doorway and was determined to prove that even without a voice she could still teach. If she really needed words she either tapped out a drum code or wrote it down. By the end of lessons the class had made great progress on the song and Menolly looked to Mavi who simple scowled and stalked off.

Menolly rolled her eyes and moved her hands about, alternating between tapping out words in drum beat or making signals. 'Lady won't want me teach. I teach. Lady go storm in Hold. Won't stop me.' The kids laughed, as they put away the instruments they had out. Menolly stuck her tongue out at the empty doorway.

She knew from Petiron that he'd sent word to Harper Hall already to ask for a replacement as well as sending a few of her compositions. If Yanus sent the message, which he won't until the ships get back, which would be another few days, then it would go by Drum Signals to Harper Hall since the message wasn't important enough for an Old Timer to send by dragon so they'd be waiting a while. Petiron's message had a good few weeks head start, but would have to go by runner. A reply should be here soon actually. It would be at least spring either way before a new Harper got here, with the winter weather stopping anyone coming by sea and the constant threat of Thread stopping anyone coming by land.

She would be glad for a new Harper. Perhaps they'd bring new songs? Or convince Mavi and Yanus to let her go to Harper Hall. A mute can't be a Harper they say, but Petiron always said she was the best Harper he'd ever met, to be able to play her feeling and put words she couldn't speak into a tune. She'd have to wait for the new Harper and see what he thought.

Menolly sat on the desk and strummed her harp quietly, contemplating.

Mavi came back into the room. "If you're done here, go make yourself useful somewhere else."

Menolly scowled and strummed and angry note.

"Don't you take that tone with me, girl! And don't think you'll be teaching the kids after this. You can't speak. You can't teach them the songs!"

Menolly scowled and strummed an angrier note, pointing at the board.

"Oh, you taught them that one alright enough, but you need a voice to teach! Girls and Mutes cannot be Harpers! A mute girl most definitely can't! Be thankful we let you hang around Petiron for as long as you have! Now go make yourself useful elsewhere!"

Menolly strummed furiously at her harp, her feet kicking an accompanying drum signal against the desk. She hopped down and pushed past her mother, harp still betraying her fury.

The next morning Menolly grabbed her sack and headed out to collect greens. She strummed as she walked, a sad tune mixed with a hint of hope. She returned a few hours later with a full sack and her heart a tiny bit lighter. Mavi stood in the doorway.

"The children refuse to learn from anyone but you. No one who's not busy with the boats can sing well enough and you're the only one who knows the songs well enough to teach. You'll teach them until the new Harper gets here." She turned and stomped off, the sound of Menolly's harp strumming a condescending tone following after her.

Menolly walked over to the teaching hall and saw the kids playing about inside, one of the Fishermen desperately trying to control them. Menolly picked up Petiron's guitar of the desk and started strumming the Duty Song. Some of the kids noticed her and began singing along and within moments all the kids had quieted down and were singing. She strummed the last few notes and looked the class over, raising an eyebrow and strumming a questioning tone.

The kids all looked sheepish and Menolly shook her head, looking at the board where the song from yesterday was still written. She strummed the first bars and the kids joined in. The fisherman shot Menolly a grateful look and slid out of the room.

Menolly didn't get any more complaints about her teaching the kids. Actually, the only ones who had a problem with it were her parents and sister. Even the old Aunties and Uncles were impressed by her teaching, considering she couldn't say a word.

She was glad for the teaching. It would be a long while before a Harper came, so it was good the keep the kids occupied and learning the songs was better than mending nets or baiting the long lines and in the harsher weather it kept them from being bored.

When she wasn't teaching she was walking the hills, collecting greens and making new songs. If she made a new song where her father could hear she'd get a lashing but thankfully her father wasn't able to tell the difference between her harp speak and song writing.

When she wasn't teaching, Mavi had her doing the worst, smelliest or most tiresome jobs in the Hold. After each Threadfall she went out with the flame-thrower crews, her harp silent as she needed both hands for the flame-thrower. Still, it was good to be out of the Hold and onto the windswept plains above her home.

The crowning treat was when F'lar, the Weyrleader of Benden Weyr circled down to talk with Yanus. She stood respectfully with the rest of the flame-thrower crew, fingers quietly strumming her harp, and watched Mnementh, F'lar's bronze, sitting quietly beside his rider, eyes whirling different colours, conveying his tiredness of the long flight and fight against Thread, his happiness at a successful fight, love for his rider and so many others.

He turned his head lazily and looked the crew over, his gaze stopping on Menolly.

Her fingers strummed an awed, respectful tone, full of hints of fear and wonder in equal measure.

After a moment F'lar turned to look at Mnementh before tuning his gaze to her. He said something to Yanus who turned and scowled at Menolly briefly before schooling his face and turning back to the Weyrleader. After a while the Weyrleader looked back at her and waved before climbing on Mnementh.

The dragon looked at her one final time. "_**I hope to see you again. Your music is good.**_"

She gasped, hearing his voice in her head. "_Thank you._" She thought back, not knowing if he could hear her. Her fingers strummed furiously at her harp, a rising cadence of awe as Mnementh leapt from the ground and into the air, his powerful wings beating as he climbed the sky and winked _Between_.

Menolly struck another tune on her harp, her other hand beating away at the drum of the flame-thrower. Yanus scowled at her. "Menolly! Stop tuning!" he aimed a swing at her head, which she ducked under and scowled at him, strumming an angry tone with her Harp before turning and heading back to the Hold. She quickly grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and washed herself down from the stink and mud.

Once clean again she headed downstairs to see what Mavi needed of her. She could not believe a dragon had spoken to her, they never talk to anyone but their rider. They don't even talk to other riders! Her harp trilled her excitement as she practically shook with all the emotions bursting within her. And no way to tell anyone! Fardles why did she have to be mute?!

Mavi sent her a scolding look. "You'd best not be still playing that harp when the new Harper gets here, Menolly. We'll not have you disgracing our Hold."

The First Holder's wife looked up. "Our Hold would be much revered for a Harper to teach with no voice, Mavi. No Harper before her has taught nearly so well without uttering a word. And she can have all the children sitting nicely and not a word of misbehaviour from any of them the whole time."

Mavi simply scowled at the woman and sent her off to stir the seaweed and sent Menolly off on another job. Menolly's harp strummed her laughter even as her shoulders shook and no sound passed her lips.

That evening Menolly entertained the entire Hall as they sang shanty after shanty, the Threadfall meant good fishing in the morrow and the flame-thrower crew was excited from seeing the Weyrleader himself come down to chat with Yanus. Yanus himself was in a good mood for it too and didn't spend too much time that evening scowling at Menolly.

When spring finally broke Menolly was sent out to collect greens and yellow-veined grass after a morning's teaching. She ran across the fields, her harp singing her joy. Finally she slowed down to a walk and looked around. She froze, looking up at the sky, shielding her eyes with one hand as she watched a group of dragons swarm around in the sky. Did dragons swarm like that?

No surely not.

Oh! A Queen! There was a queen at the front and the only other ones there were bronzes now, the blues and browns having backed off. A mating flight! And they were so small... they must be firelizards.

Menolly walked along the path following the main body of firelizards as the queen led her bronzes much too high for Menolly to see. She strummed a happy, playful tune as she watched them dart about in the sky before seemingly dipping under the ground. It was then that Menolly realised they were over the beaches. She crept slowly after them having to consciously force her hand away from her harp as she crouched low and then onto her belly as she crawled and peered over the edge, down into the cove.

She watched them all frolic and play on the sands, saw them sunning themselves on rocks, playing in the waves, swimming and floating on the sea. She spotted a group of them eating rockmites from the fallen boulders. There was a bit of a struggle as two of them started arguing over the same one. They were all disturbed when the queen and her bronze came back and settled wearily in the warm shallow waters. The rest of the flock came back over and some of them came forward, offering the exhausted pair rockmites and fingertails.

Eventually they all dispersed, flying off into little cliff Weyrs and the mated pair gliding off out of sight. Menolly slowly backed away from the edge and when she was far enough away she stood and her hand flew down to her harp, strumming away. She spotted some reeds and grinned rushing over and quickly fashioning a pipe, playing the tune on that instead, which much more suited firelizards than a harp.

She played all the while as she walked, tuning her new song easily. She hid the reed pipe in a pocket as she entered the Hold, a bag full of greens and grass at her back. When she got back Mavi stormed up to her. "There's been sail spotted. The new Harper's most likely aboard. Hand those greens over to the kitchens and gather your instruments. Put them away and don't let me catch you tuning. We'll not have you disgracing our Hall."

Menolly ducked her head and dropped the bag off in the kitchens and hurried up to her room. She pursed her lips together and took the reed pipe from her pocket, stashing it safely in her room. She hid the guitar, drum, fiddle and pipes too.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the strap of her harp and shakily lifted it over her head. Her hands shook harder as she forced herself to put it with her other instruments. She'd not been without it since Petiron had given it to her.

She managed to force herself out of the room and back down to the kitchens. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

She helped in the kitchens to prepare the food for the feast. She mostly washed the greens and helped with the trickier bits that the old Aunties just didn't have the strength or dexterity for anymore. Once the feast was prepared Menolly was firmly told that she was to stay away from the Hall completely that evening. She was to go to her room immediately and not come out until tomorrow morning.

Menolly stormed up to her room and glared at Sella as she was getting dressed. Sella glared right back. "Don't give me that look. You can't help yourself sometimes you know? You'll bring disgrace to our hall some day you will girl."

Menolly's hand flew to her waist to strum her harp only to stop short, realising she wasn't wearing it. Sella seemed shocked for a moment too before she gathered herself. "Since you've been banished from the hall this evening I have to look after Old Uncle. It's so unfair!"

Menolly scowled. '_Unfair is being banished from the Hall for the evening. Unfair is not getting to eat this evening. Unfair is having my music taken away. You don't know the half of it._'

"Oh don't give me that look. You think entirely too much of yourself Menolly." Sella grumbled finishing putting on her gown and gliding out of the room.

Menolly scowled and pulled out her harp sighing as her fingers ran across the strings. If she had anywhere to go she'd leave the Hold.

.oOo.

Menolly sighed silently as she helped gut packtails. It had been so long since she'd played music. Even in her room it was forbidden. Sella caught her and had told Mavi, who told Yanus who had given her a sound thrashing and taken her instruments.

She felt her throat vibrate silently and wondered what kind of sound would have come out were she not mute.

She sighed silently again and focused on her task. Packtails were tricky and she didn't want to cut herself. By the time they'd all finished gutting the fish everyone smelt something horrid. Menolly of course was the last in the bathing rooms, as is her place as the Hold Cripple.

It was exhausting and she desperately wanted to whistle but if she did Yanus would belt her again. She didn't think she could take another one, her back was so raw and painful as it was.

Menolly quickly finished up and was just getting out when the door opened. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

She turned around sharply, covering herself with her tunic. She glared at the man in the doorway, who had now turned and was in the process of shutting the door behind him on the way out. She didn't recognise him. He shut the door behind him and she let out a sharp angry whistle and finished getting dressed.

Men. Honestly.

She opened the door and saw him about to disappear around the corner. She let out a sharp whistle and he turned. She jerked her thumb at the bathing room and turned, heading the other way down the corridor.

"Thank you!" he called after her.

Honestly, did no one check if a room was occupied?

.oOo.

It was a few weeks after the bathing room incident and Menolly had yet to see the man again. She assumed he'd come in on one of the ships and left again soon after. She was currently out collecting greens and glared at any of the boys that dared follow her out past a few klicks.

She soon found herself wandering all the way over to where she'd seen the firelizards. She grinned, her throat vibrating with some unheard sound and she wondered if perhaps she was humming. She looked at a few of the coves as she passed by them. The tide was higher than it should have been. The water was above the previous high tide markings.

**Again she heard the firelizards before she saw them. Their excited chirpings and squeals indicated something was upsetting them. She dropped to a crouch and crept to the edge of the bluff, overlooking the little beach. Only there wasn't much beach left, and the firelizards were hovering over a spot on the small margin of sand, almost directly below her.**

**She inched up to the edge, peering down. She could see the queen darting at the incoming waves as if she could stop them with her violently beating wings. Then she'd streak back, out of Menolly's line of sight, while the rest of the creatures kept milling and swooping, rather like frightened heardbeasts running about aimlessly when wild wherries circled their herd. The queen was shrieking at the top of her shrill little voice, obviously trying to get them to do something. Unable to imagine what the emergency could be, Menolly leaned just a little further over the edge. The whole lip of the cliff gave way.**

**Clutching wildly at sea grasses, Menolly tried to prevent her fall. But the sea grass slipped cuttingly through her hand and she slid over the edge and down. She hit the beach with a force that sent a shock through her body. But the wet sand absorbed a good deal of the impact. She lay where she'd fallen for a few minutes, trying to get her breath into her lungs and out again. Then she scrambled to her feet and crawled away from an incoming wave.**

**She looked up at the side of the bluff, rather daunted by the fact that she'd fallen a dragon length or more. And how was she going to climb back up? But, as she examined the cliff face, she could see that it was not so unscalable as she'd first thought. Almost straight up, yes, but pocked by ledges and holds, some fairly large. If she could fine enough foot and hand holds, she'd be able to make it. She dusted the sand from her hands and started to walk towards one end of the little cove, to begin a systematic search for the easiest way up.**

**She'd gone only a few paces when something dove at her, screeching in fury. Her hands were up to protect her face as the little queen came diving down at her. Now Menolly recalled the curious behaviour of the firelizards. The little queen acted as if she were protecting something. From Menolly as well as the encroaching sea, and she looked about her. She was within handspans of stepping into a firelizard clutch.**

Menolly quickly backpedalled, whistling a piteous tune with a sharp trill, apologising as best she could. **To prove her sincerity, Menolly backtracked to the far end of the beach. There she had to duck under a small overhang. **

She tucked herself into it, her elbows and knees still sticking out slightly. The queen vanished from sight and Menolly sighed. She looked around and started to crawl out from under the ledge. As soon as she tried the queen came flying at her, screaming. Menolly backed back up under the ledge, whistling a soft croon to calm her down. She cursed her muteness and tried as hard as she could to get the little creature to understand that she didn't want to hurt her nest.

There was silence for a moment before a wave came dangerously close to the nest. The queen streaked off of the ledge above Menolly and flew towards the sea, hissing and screaming at it.

Menolly bit her lip, as much as she wanted to leave, she couldn't leave the firelizard nest to be drowned by the waves. She frantically searched for an answer and saw the queen grab and egg and struggle up the cliff face, wings desperately grabbing at the air, before she deposited the egg on a ledge. Menolly glanced at the bottom of the cliff and spotted some broken eggs, the hatchlings sp perfectly formed, they must only be days from hatching. It would be such a shame for them do be washed away now, when they are so close to hatching.

Menolly carefully crept forwards towards the nest.

The queen screeched at her but Menolly let out another sharp whistle, pointed at the nest and then up at the ledge. The queen landed in the sand in front of Menolly hissing at her. Menolly whistled a low tune, and the queen stilled briefly.

Menolly let out another low whistle as she watched the queens eyes whirr in greens and blues. Menolly whistled a different tune and the queen settled down slightly, eyes whirring more greens.

Menially sat up and looked over to where the rest of the fair had settled down not far from the queen. Menolly laughed silently and began whistling a tune of Dragon Riders. The firelizards al sat silently listening, eyes spinning more and more green by the second. When she let the final note die they chirped happily eyes locked on her for another song.

Before she could even think of it a larger wave came up and lapped at her feet. She gasped silently and jumped up pointing towards the nest. She and the fair moved forwards as one and the queen grabbed another egg, Menolly grabbed one too and quickly began scaling the cliff, the queen screaming at her the whole time until she got to the ledge and placed the egg there.

The queen landed on the ledge and deposited the egg she was carrying on it. She chirped sweetly at Menolly before scolding her and rolling her eggs further into the tunnel. The sound echoed so Menolly thought there must be a cave further inside. She looked the entrance over, it was far too small. They'd only be able to get one egg at a time down there and the water was rising too fast. They wouldn't have enough time to get the eggs up one at a time so she'd have to use her bag, but then the ledge would be piled too high and they'd risk one falling.

Menolly felt carefully around the edge of the opening, noting the loose sand and dirt surrounding it. There was solid stone behind it so she carefully pulled the looser stuff away, ignoring the angry shrieking from inside. Once all the loose dirt was away the hole was much bigger and Menolly nodded in satisfaction, her throat vibrating slightly with some unheard sound.

She climbed back down the cliff and began carefully placing as many eggs as she could in her bag. The queen shrieked at her but Menolly simply let out a shrieking whistle, pointed at the eggs, her bag and then up at the ledge before pointing at the still rising water.

The queen quieted down and Menolly finished filler her sack before climbing back up the cliff. She carefully rolled the eggs out of her bag and as far down the tunnel as she could get them before going and filling her bag up again. The rest of the fair flew into the cave, presumably to keep the eggs warm and arrange them just as the queen ordered.

It took three trips to get all of the eggs up. Menolly whistled a low tune to the firelizards and got a sweet chirping melody in return. She grinned and climbed the rest of the way up the cliff, sitting on the top to rest a moment. She grinned excitedly and leant over the edge, looking down the cliff to the firelizard's ledge.

She looked further down and frowned at how high the tide was.

She'd have to tell the harbour master about it for sure. She shook her head and looked around the walls of the cove. Perhaps there was a cave here big enough for her? It would give her somewhere to go to get away from Yanus and Mavi as well as meaning she could be close to the firelizards.

She nodded decisively, closely examining the holes and dips to see if one could be concealing a cave. She spotted one about halfway round the cove, near the firelizard's ledge and looked for a way to get down. The entire cliff face was full of jutting and uneven rocks, perfect handholds and footholds.

She grinned and ran around the edge, carefully slipping down the side and stopping next to the cave. Just like the one she'd just helped the Queen store her eggs in, the entrance was solid rock behind a layer of looser sand and dirt. She pulled the looser ground off and smiled as the entrance opened a fair amount. Crawling in she discovered the inside was a good size, large enough to store all of her instruments and be able to sleep peacefully without being cramped up.

There was even a narrow passage on one side with a slightly wider section behind it, making a good storage cupboard.

Menolly turned and looked back out the entrance and her mouth opened. The view was incredible! The way the sun hit the water from this angle! The waves coving the whole beach! The Dragon Stones in the sea! It was breathtaking!

Menolly nodded decisively. She was going to move into this cave.

She carefully climbed out and up to the top of the cliff, pulling herself back up and dusting herself down. She readjusted the pack on her back and set off, back towards Half-Circle, collecting as many greens as possible on the way.

She managed to get through the day easily enough and managed to force herself to stay awake that night when everyone else went to sleep.

Unfortunately any plans she had of escape were thwarted by the storm that rolled in during the night.

She spent most of the day cleaning out rooms far into the back of the hold, avoiding Mavi as much as possible. She spent the whole time planning her escape. She knew exactly what to take with her. She'd take a glow too, she could recharge it during the day and only really use it at night if she really needed it. Thankfully there were a load of warn out glows in the back rooms that she took towards the front of the hold to be recharged once the storm wore off.

She carefully thought about what to take with her, what she'd really need with her. Her instruments were a must. It was the whole reason she was leaving after all.

That night when everyone else had gone to bed she silently packed two pairs of trousers, two tunics, a spare belt and her bed furs.

She crept down to Yanus' office. One good thing about the Sea Holder, he went to bed quite early each night, what with having to get up as early as possible the next morning. If it had been any other hold, there was a chance of someone still being up, but in a Sea Hold everyone went to bed much earlier.

She quickly collected her Instruments, making sure that they wouldn't make any noise as she walked. Thankfully they were all in Yanus' office, rather than anywhere else. He wasn't expecting her to steal them back.

She quickly snuck down to the kitchen. This was the dangerous part as anyone who woke up in the night might come down for something to eat or drink. Thankfully it was empty so Menolly grabbed one of the hide bags; it was much smaller than the cloth sack she had, being limited by the size of the beast it was taken from.

Menolly grabbed a cloth and carefully wrapped up a couple of different knives, storing them in the bag, along with a couple of bowls, some empty pots with the smaller ones stored in the larger ones to save room, a pot of numbweed, a few bandages, a spoon and a fork.

She quickly slipped into the store room at the side where she'd stored the glows yesterday and took one, heading towards the large hold doors. They were barred, as they always were at night, but she was able to lift it easily enough and shove the door open.

As she was leaving the Hold grounds she grabbed a small fishing net, a rod and a basket. She needed them more than the Hold did, they had plenty of spares.

She easily made her way up out of the cavern and up onto the cliffs. She tried to jog but the two bags on her back made it difficult and so she had to walk. The sun was just poking up over the horizon by the time she got there. She quickly shimmied down the cliff and pushed her bags into the cave, climbing in after them. She set the sleeping furs out, making a decent bed on the cave floor.

She then set everything else in the 'cupboard' for now, vowing to deal with it all a little later when she had light.

She slung the strap for her harp over her shoulder and her fingers began to fly over the strings. It was as if a huge weight suddenly lifted from her shoulders. She sighed silently and relaxed into the cave wall, her fingers strumming away, music filling the air.

Eventually Menolly sat up straight. She gathered up the sack and shimmied out of the cave. She'd fill it with spiderclaws and share with the firelizards. She had just finished when she noticed the utter stillness about her. She stood very still and waited, listening. The waves were lapping at the beach, the wind was still blowing, so what could have been causing such unrest.

It was then she realised she couldn't hear any sea birds or the usual insects that made so much noise all hours of the day and night. She cautiously climbed up the cliff to see what was wrong and spotted a grey cloud in the distance, bursts of orange and red flashing across it.

She took a deep breath in, calming herself. There was no need to panic. Thread was all the way over there and she had a cave right below her. No need to panic. She climbed down and poked her head into the firelizard's cave, noticing a humming from within. She shoved the bag inside and tried to crawl in after it.

She got stuck.

She backed out and turned around, backing in and this time was able to wriggle right the way in, although she knocked the ledge off as she did so.

She turned around and watched the nest, the eggs rocked and wobbled. Finally a brown firelizard fought free of his egg and looked around crooning desperately, his eyes whirring red. He leapt into the air, tiny wings propelling him and flew out of the cave past Menolly, desperately keening in hunger.

Menolly gasped silently as he cleared the cave mouth, only to be met with a stand of Thread.

She looked back at the nest where two more eggs were about to hatch. She grabbed at her sack, frantically pulling it open and grabbed a spiderclaw. She scooped up a bronze firelizard as he was trying to escape and plonked him down off to one side of the cave with a spiderclaw. She grabbed another along with a brown and dumped him near the bronze. Soon she was frantically throwing spiderclaws at each of the newly hatched firelizards, having upended the bag the first time on snagged on the sack.

She kept a close eye on the queen hatchling. Queens were the most important dragon so it would stand to reason that they'd be the most important firelizards too.

Eventually she ran out of food for them and watched the older fair fly out the cave, the hatchlings all following them. Thankfully it seemed the fall had passed so she sighed heavily and lay down, too tired to go back to her own cave.

.oOo.

Menolly woke to the feeling of something warm draped over her and an intense, burning hunger. She looked at the whirring red eyes of the firelizards draped over her and smiled gently, letting out a soft, crooning whistle.

The firelizards echoed her and she grinned, sitting up and climbing out of the cave, brining her bag with her. The firelizards that had been lying on her squawked at being displaced but followed her easily enough. She spotted the older queen and her fair with the other hatchlings all diving in and out of the water catching fingertails of scavenging for rockmites.

Menolly taught the nine that were following her to catch food for themselves as well as catching some for them. By the time they were no longer hungry Menolly was too tired to do more than catch a flatfish and eat it raw. Thankfully being a seaman's daughter she was accustomed to fish in any shape, including raw.

'Just in case you're on the sea and can't cook what you catch.' Yanus told her.

Menolly climbed up the cliff into her cave, some fish in her bag for later, and curled up on the sleeping furs. The nine hatchlings flew into her cave and curled up with her. She felt her throat vibrate again and wondered if she was trying to hum.

The following week established a good routine. Menolly organised her things easily enough and a few good bits of wood with some long grasses weaved around them made some nice shelves on the cupboard in her cave. She folded her furs up every morning and placed them on the floor of her cupboard. This meant that when she cooked she didn't have to worry about accidentally setting her bed on fire.

She'd filled the pots with seabeachplum and marsh berries, edible grass seeds, greens and bits of fish that she'd gutted (the firelizards ate that), de-boned and salted for later. Mostly fingertails since they made for a surprisingly good snack during the day, with their small size and the ease with which she could catch large numbers. There were a lot of spiderclaws, and on a whim she kept the empty shells after washing them out.

One pot held a steadily growing supply of oil from the fish she'd caught which she sweetened with grass seeds and berries. It still stank something awful though.

Menolly figured she would just have to get used to the smell.

She discovered the firelizards, all of them, loved music. She'd spend many evenings sitting on the cliff tops surrounded by not only her fair, but the older ones and the other hatchlings. As she played song after song they all joined in, their tune getting better and better with each song.

She couldn't stop the grin on her face at these times. _Here_ was someone who enjoyed her music. Someone who appreciated what she could do. She didn't need a hold. She was fine.

As she was walking about the cliff top one day, looking for more sweet grasses to fragrance the oil she heard something. She stopped and hushed her fair of lizards listening carefully. She followed the sound and spotted a wherry stuck in a marsh, clearly having gotten stuck while eating from the bush. Silly bird.

She crept forward carefully and with a good sharp stab to the back of its neck the thing died. She looped her belt around a bush, tying the other end around the wherry's neck and began to pull it from the marsh. The firelizards, seeing what she was doing, all grabbed what part of the bird they could and helped her pull. The thing slid out of the mud with a sickly squelch.

She sighed, her fingers strumming a triumphant note on her harp and she tied her belt more securely about the large bird, heaving it onto her back.

It was a tiring walk back to the caves and she had to bring her pots up to the cliff top to the wherry since she couldn't carry it down. She set up a fire and a pot, easily melting the fatty layers of meat and collecting the oils that ran off it and the rest of the meat. She passed scraps of the meat as she cut it to her fair and the others when they all turned up.

The wherry had a slightly spicy scent, not at all like those that lived off the sea, so clearly this one had lived further inland. It would explain how it got stuck in the marshes.

Soon enough all that was lest was bare bones and she had a lovely large pot full of oil and another pot with the fat that she could then spread on pans when cooking to give it a bit of flavour.

She carefully stored her pots and climbed back down to her cave and oiled the hides of her fair.

It was a few days later that she finally had names for them all.

The queen spent a lot of her time grooming herself, preening her wings, licking between her claws and toes and otherwise just making sure she looked beautiful, so Menolly named her Beauty.

Of the two bronzes, one spent a lot of his time hunting for rockmites, so Menolly called him Rocky, while the other spent a lot of his time diving in and out of the waves, so he was dubbed Diver.

The browns had given her a bit of trouble, one was incredibly lazy and had been dubbed Lazybones even before the other's had been given names. Eventually she realised one of the browns would copy anything the others were doing and had been dubbed Mimic, the last brown didn't really seem to show much in the way of personality so he just named him Brownie.

The two greens spent all of their time harping at the poor blue, so reminding her of the old Aunties at the hold that they were dubbed Aunty One and Aunty Two while the blue, who moaned like an Old Uncle was suitably named Uncle.

Sometimes, when she and her fair were on the beach and Menolly was oiling them, some of the other hatchlings would come over too. The older ones stayed away though. It didn't bother Menolly much, since she had her hands full with her nine, though oiling the hides of the other hatchlings wasn't really a chore.

There had been three more Threadfalls since she'd left her hold, each one spent in her cave with her firelizards. Any fear she'd had of Thread before was much diminished now. So long as the Dragon Riders were flying in the sky she had nothing to fear. They wouldn't let anything happen to her.

.oOo.

Menolly stood on the cliff top and stretched. She'd been feeling cooped up yesterday so she decided to take a walk down the beach today and look for things along the beaches, catch some lunch while she was out, perhaps find some more types of grasses and such. There was a river further south, she might find some fresh water cress there.

She walked along, her fair dipping and diving about her and her fingers strumming a joyful tune on her harp. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed herself quite as much as she was enjoying being holdless. No one to tell her she couldn't play, or she couldn't run, or she must attend Old Uncle or gather more greens or check the glows or some other such task. She was free here to do what she wanted, when she wanted.

Reaching a river Menolly set about setting up a fire, and caught a couple of spiderclaws. She set them on the rocks on her fire to cook and went to look for anything in the river to eat with it. She grinned excitedly as she spotted some fresh water cress and plucked it out of the riverbed.

She was just eating a mouthful when her fingers struck an ominous tone on her harp. She paused and looked down at her fingers, still plucking a tense, ominous tone. She'd been playing that harp for so long that playing her feelings became so instinctual that she often played something before she realised she was feeling it. She stood up straight, swallowing her mouthful of watercress and looked around, wondering what was causing her to feel so worried.

The grey cloud on the horizon with bursts of red and orange was a dead giveaway.

She turned and ran, pelting across the ground as fast as her legs would carry her, back towards her cave. Her heart was pounding, her fair fling through the air above her creeling in fear, their eyes whirring white and red. Lazy tried to cling to her shoulder but Beauty and their mother shrieked at him and they all flew above her head. Menolly absently wondered when their mother had arrived but was more focused on running.

Running was something even a mute could do well, she'd always been the fastest in the hold, it was time to see if she was faster than Thread.

She'd gotten her second wind and glanced to her left, to the sea, wondering if she should run closer to the water before shaking that idea out of her head even as she jumped over a small ditch and nearly twisted her ankle. The ground was firmer here. It was too loose nearer the water's edge, she would risk injury running any closer.

Besides, she didn't know how far underwater Thread had to go before it drowned and she couldn't stay underwater long enough anyway.

Her fair suddenly vanished from around her and a shadow descended. Menolly grit her teeth and hoped she could outrun it when suddenly a great brown dragon landed in front of her.

"Hurry up lad, leading edge is almost upon us!"

Menolly leapt forwards and grabbed the rider's outstretched hand, easily climbing up behind him.

"Hold on tight."


	30. unnamed HP Pokemon Crossover

Story name: Undecided

Genre: Friendship/Adventure

Rating: K+/T

Category: Harry Potter, Pokemon cross over

* * *

Harry woke slowly. He looked up and noticed instead of his cupboard ceiling he was looking at a plain white one with the plaster in tiny spikes, which was odd because all the ceilings at the Dursley's house were patterned with swirls... he noticed he was lying in a comfy bed, placed near the wall. The sheet bellow him was blue while the cover on the duvet was white along the bottom half, a pale red along the top half with a circle in the middle, red on the top, white on the bottom and a black strip with a white dot in the centre of it running through the middle.

There was a pink and yellow rug under the bed that somehow seemed more 'tasteful elegance' than 'feminine', although it had clearly been chosen by a woman. The bed was placed _just_ far enough away from the wall to fit a bedside table there but close enough to still be considered 'against the wall'. There was a chest of draws at the end of the bed and a wardrobe against the left wall just beyond it.

He sat up and looked around the room. The room was pretty large and mostly empty, though there were a few pillows and stuffed toys on the floor next to the bed, seemingly removed to allow him into the bed. The bed itself was in the lower left corner of the room. There were framed pictures hanging on the wall along with a few unframed ones taped on the wall over the desk, which was along the same wall as the bed with a trash can on one side and a... potted plant on the other.

The middle of the floor had a large blue diamond pattern rug while the rest of the floor was bare hardwood. There was another desk on the wall opposite the bed with a computer on it and a simple padded stool instead of the comfy chair at the other desk. Beside the computer desk was some kind of... console? It looked like one... at any rate it was wired into the T.V. that was sitting in the far corner, opposite the bed in the upper right corner of the room.

He checked the bedside table for his glasses before realising he could see fine. The table was also, sadly, empty of any clue as to where he was or how he got here. He carefully and quietly got out of bed and crept over to the desk. There was a journal of some kind but it was clearly new as it had never been written in. The year was funny though... there were other pictures and bits of paper with half finished homework, a few opened letters and an unfinished letter. There were a few figurines and some comic books and such...

He silently moved over to the other end of the room and looked the devices over. He didn't recognise what kind of console it could be, Dudley certainly didn't have one.

He didn't want to mess with anything so he moved back over and made the bed before arranging the pillows and stuffed toys on it. He noticed the clothes he was wearing were clearly pyjamas and winced at how new and comfortable they were and how expensive they must be.

"Harry! Get up and come down! It's nearly noon!"

Harry looked over at the door to the room and took a deep breath. He opened the door and went downstairs, stepping near silently on the steps. He looked into the room bellow. There was a T.V. near the bottom of the stairs with a kitchen visible beyond that. He walked a bit further down and spotted a large dining table next to the kitchen with four chairs around it (two on opposite sides, he'd never seen a table laid out like that before) and a large, squishy looking couch near it opposite the T.V.

There was a woman at the table who looked up. "For Arceus sake, Harry, get dressed first. Honestly."

Harry quickly dashed up the stairs and back into the room he'd awoken in. He looked at the wardrobe and shrugged, opening it. There was a trunk on the floor inside it. He crouched down and opened it up, sighing in relief to see his Hogwarts supplies inside, along with a note on the top. He unfolded the paper and frowned as he read it.

'_Dearest Idiot._

_Yeah, I'm talking to you. Do you have any idea what you've gone and done? No? Not surprised. You probably can't even remember can you? Let me explain.  
You heard about a room in Hogwarts from one of the upper years and went to investigate when you should have been getting on the train to go home. I don't really blame you for wanting some time alone after the fiasco that was that bloody tournament but you took 'need alone time' to a whole new level. When you opened that door into the room you somehow managed to go and open a doorway into another world entirely.  
Now, I'm going to send you some important information directly to your mind. This will hurt._'

No sooner had Harry ready that line that his head exploded in pain. When it vanished he was suddenly aware of things he didn't know about before. This world was inhabited by creatures known as Pokémon. He was going to become a Pokémon trainer. The woman downstairs was his mother, Dalia. His best friend was a girl named Lyra, who lived across the street. She already had a Pokémon, a Marill that she didn't give a nickname to. Most people didn't give nicknames to their Pokémon but Harry felt that giving something a name gave it an identity.

He quickly ran over some other important information before turning back to the letter, aware that he was limited for time.

'_Now, you can choose the direction of your journey but most people decide to challenge the Gyms and battle in the Pokémon League Championship. Within the wardrobe is a belt with a bag on it. It will only open to you and no one else will notice the bag is there unless it is pointed out to them, a very strong notice-me-not spell if you must know. All of the pockets are bottomless, feather light and nothing placed within them will ever break or age, so you can store food in there if you really wanted.  
You also have a backpack, the forest green one next to your trunk.'_

Harry looked and finally noticed the bag in question. It had a bedroll rolled up and tied across the bottom and he knew there was also a tent hidden within it.

'_This bag has the same charms as your belt bag. You have both bags so you can store your magic items in one and your Pokémon items in the other. The belt itself has pokéball slots on it for your main team but you have pockets inside your jackets for other pokéballs too.  
You will be getting your first Pokémon soon. Everyone in this world remembers you and anything you take from this world will come with you back to your world, should you ever decide to go back.  
You are able to cast spells here and no one from your world will know. So cast away. You also cannot break the statute of secrecy as there is no magical world here to be exposed.  
A quick warning, time will pass differently between the two worlds. A month here is a day there._'

Harry smiled happily. It meant he could spend a year here and only be gone less than two weeks.

'_If you die here, you die for real. So don't fuck it up.  
P.S. Potions from your world work fine on Pokémon and humans._'

The note wasn't signed. Harry hummed and stood up, quickly selecting some clothes from the wardrobe. He ended up wearing black jogging bottoms, red trainers, a red jacket with a white hem and hood and a black and red hat with gold trim. It took him a few minutes to find everything, especial as he had to try three different draws before he'd found the underwear. He grinned at his reflection in the mirror inside the wardrobe door and headed downstairs, deciding to pack later so he could say goodbye then.

He smiled at his 'mother'. It was strange having someone to call mum...

"Hi Harry! You're finally up. Your friend Lyra was just here. She was playing hide-and-seek with Marill. Oh, I almost forgot! Professor Elm was looking for you. He said he had a favour to ask you. Can you pop round after breakfast? Or should I say lunch?"

Harry chuckled and walked over to the table, sliding into the seat opposite her. He helped himself to the food on the table, actually feeling very hungry for once. After he finished he helped clear the dishes and headed outside. As soon as he stepped out of the house his mind was assaulted with information about this village, including relationships he supposedly had with the people here.

A blue spherical blur ran into him and bounced backwards. He looked down and his mind supplied '_Marill_'. He looked to his right as a girl called out and waved. He waved back and the Marill ran up to the girl before running off again. The girl shouted and ran after it.

'_Lyra, best friend forever since we were really little._'

He nodded and walked onwards towards the Lab, which was the closest building to the edge of town, since it also double as the Pokémon centre. He stepped inside and nodded to the Lab assistant '_Gavin. Friends with mum. Had feelings for her when they were younger. Unknown if they still exist._'

He blinked at the knowledge and walked further into the lab. A few rooms down he found the professor. "Professor Elm? Mother said you wanted to see me?"

"Ah! Harry! I've been waiting for you. Excellent, excellent. Do you know anything about my research?"

Harry shook his head. "Not much."

Elm nodded. "Yes, well, as you know, Pokémon are carried in pokéballs these days, but before the pokéball was invented, people used to walk around with Pokémon. Just like your friend Lyra does! Pokéballs are great because you can carry many Pokémon. But walking with Pokémon must have some advantages. It could have something to do with how Pokémon grow or evolve. So I'm going to give you a Pokémon!"

Harry rocked backwards slightly in mock shock. "What? Really? Thank you, Professor!"

Elm nodded and smiled. "Can you walk beside this Pokémon, outside of its pokéball, to see if this brings any special feelings or bonds between Pokémon and people? The device over there has some Pokémon you could choose from."

He waved Harry over and Harry moved towards it. Elm was then distracted by his computer... at least... the one directly behind him, as it let out a ping. "Oh, I have an E-Mail." Harry tuned out his mumbling and looked over the data sheet next to the machine. "Harry." he looked up. "Listen, I have this acquaintance that people call Mr. Pokémon. He keeps finding weird things and raving about his discoveries. Anyway, I just got an E-Mail from him saying that this time it's real. It's probably another Pokémon egg, but we're still so busy with our Pokémon research. Wait! I know! You can go in our place right? Can we count on you?"

Harry nodded, "Sure thing Professor."

"Excellent, in that case I'll just make up your Trainer Card." He stepped over to a different machine.

Harry looked over the data sheets again.

'_Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Cyndaquil is mild tempered, and often timid. It prefers warm places and will often cuddle up to other fire types or its trainer. It curls up into a ball it if is frightened, shy or sad. If it feels threatened it shoots flames from the spots on its back. Normally they have a blue back with red spots and a cream underbelly. There have been sightings on ones that are darker in colour with a white underbelly.  
This Cyndaquil is male and has the abilities Blaze and Flash Fire.  
Cyndaquil is part of the Field egg group.  
It has a Regional Pokédex number of 004 and a national Dex number of 155.  
It is 1'08" and weighs 17.4Ibs.  
This Cyndaquil knows the moves Ember, Tackle, Smokescreen and Growl._'

'_Chikorita, the Leaf Pokémon. Chikorita is relatively docile and easy going. A sweet aroma comes from the leaf on its head, helping to calm down any Pokémon around it. It waves the leaf around in battle as a form of attack. They tend to spend a lot of time sunbathing and are quite affectionate. Usually they are a pale green with darker green studs around the neck, the same colour as its leaf. Occasionally trainers have reported seeing ones that are pale cream coloured with a more orange leaf.  
This Chikorita is Female and has the abilities Overgrow and Leaf Guard.  
Chikorita is part of the Monster and Grass egg groups.  
It has a Regional Pokédex number of 001 and a national Dex number of 152.  
It is 2'11" and 14.1Ibs.  
This Chikorita knows the moves Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl and Aromatherapy. The latter is an Egg Move._'

'_Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon. Totodile is playful and energetic, often found playing near rivers and streams. They love to be near water and will often try to get other Pokémon or trainers to play with them. They have an immensely powerful jaw and often underestimate their strength as even a playful nip can cause serious injury. Beware, if not treated well in this stage then its evolved forms can be dangerous to everyone, trainer included. Usually Totodile is blue with red spikes on its back and tail, though there have been sightings of ones that are a greener shade of blue with blue spikes on their back and tail.  
This Totodile is male with the abilities Torrent and Sheer Force.  
Totodile is part of the Monster and Water 1 Egg Groups.  
It has a regional Pokédex number of 007 and a national Dex number of 158.  
it is 2'00" and 20.9Ibs.  
This Totodile knows the moves Scratch, Leer and Tackle._'

Harry looked the three of them over and easily made a decision. While Chikorita was cute and likable, it wasn't his kind of thing, and while Totodile seemed cool enough he wasn't quite ready for a water type Pokémon, after the merpeople and grindylows of the second task.

He picked up the Cyndaquil's pokéball and tapped the button, summoning the small fire Pokémon out. He crouched down to face it. "Hey there." It tilted its head curiously. "Want to be my partner?" it thought for a moment before nodding excitedly and walking the short distance between them. "Alright... what to name you..." Harry thought for a moment before a name came to mind. "How about Ignotus, Iggy for short?" the Cyndaquil nodded in excitement. "Alright then Iggy, welcome to the team." He smiled and held out a finger, which the tiny Pokémon hi-fived.

He stood up straight and walked over to Professor Elm.

The professor smiled at him. "How do you like walking with your Pokémon? It's not bad is it? You can take it all the way to Mr. Pokémon's house. Mr Pokémon goes everywhere and finds rarities. His house is past Cherrygrove City. Go north a little past Cherrygrove. I'm counting on you, Harry!"

Harry nodded and grinned. "Yeah. Don't worry Professor. We'll be back before you know it, right Ignotus?"

"Cyn! Cyndaquil!"

"Excellent! Now, here is your Trainer Card. It works as both a licence to battle with Pokémon and as a valid form of ID, so keep it on you at all times!"

"Yes sir."

"Alright then, off you go."

"Bye Professor." Harry grinned and nodded to his Pokémon. "Come on, we need to stop by my house to get ready. It'll be a long trip so we'll need to be prepared."

"Quil!"

As he got back to the entrance of the lab Gavin came up to him. "Hey Harry, I want you to have these to help you with your task." He handed Harry a small box. He looked inside and spotted a load of small bottles with a squirty top. '_Potions, healing item_'. "Pokémon are weak in the beginning. Don't hesitate to use a potion if you think yours is in danger."

Harry nodded. "Thanks." he hesitated for a moment. "Hey, look after my mum while I'm gone, yeah?"

Gavin smirked slightly. "Sure thing Harry. Stay safe out there."

Harry nodded and left the building. Outside he spotted Marill running in circles around Lyra. "Harry!"

He smiled and stepped up to her. From what he could 'remember' about her she was as brilliant as Hermione, and just as bossy, but liked to get out and be physical whereas his bushy haired friend preferred to stay inside.

"So you picked a Cyndaquil! That's a cute Pokémon you have! When you walk with it, it'll become more friendly. You should turn around and talk to it sometimes too."

Harry laughed. "Well obviously, I'm not going to just use him for battling. He's my partner, right Iggy?"

"Quil!"

Lyra laughed and slapped her forehead. "Oh! Yeah obviously. Hey! You should show your mum!"

"Rill!" They both looked down to Marill as it took that moment to run off.

"Wait! Marill! See ya later Harry!" she ran off after her Pokémon.

Harry chuckled and looked down at Ignotus, who was somewhat cowering behind his leg. "It's alright Ignotus. That was my friend Lyra and her Marill. Marill is a bit excitable but otherwise he's harmless and he won't use any water moves on you unless you are battling. Anyway, come on and meet my mum, she'll love you."

He made his way home easily and walked inside. "Mum." He held the door open for his Pokémon and then walked over to where his mum was sitting on the sofa.

"Oh Harry! That's a cute Pokémon you have."

Harry chuckled. "That's what Lyra said too."

His mum chuckled. "Professor Elm must have given it to you?" He nodded and explained. "Oh, Professor Elm has a task for you, you say?"

Harry frowned. "Are you alright, mum? You seem kind of distracted."

She frowned and bit her lip. "Do you actually remember me?"

Harry blinked in shock. "Huh?"

"Have you had another episode? I noticed you seemed a bit off this morning. Have you forgotten everything again?"

Harry swallowed. "I..." he bit his lip and looked down. "I'm sorry..."

He felt a pair of arms circle around him. "Oh my baby. Don't be sorry, sweet heart. It's not your fault."

Harry winced when he felt a drop land on his cheek and he knew his mother was crying. "Mum..." he wrapped his arms around her and held onto her as she cried. They sat side by side on the couch for a long while before Dalia was able to pull herself together.

"Right... how much can you remember?"

Harry frowned. "Um... I know things... like I know you're my mum, your name is Dalia, my best friend is Lyra... I know we spend a lot of time together playing with her Marill but... I can't actually remember doing that... I know Gavin is a family friend and he sometimes stays for dinner, I know I spend some time at the weekends with Mrs Lars, helping her out around the house and keeping her garden tidy." Mrs Lars was their immediate next door neighbour. She was quite old and widowed. Harry and Lyra helped her out from time to time. "But again, I can't actually remember ever doing it..." he sat forwards and frowned. "I don't really have any memories... but I... I know things that I should have memories of..."

Dalia sighed and leant against him. "I see... same as every time then..."

Harry frowned. "How often does this happen?"

"The first time happened when you were about six... you woke up not knowing who I was... you were afraid of me... you wouldn't let me close. The second time was two and a half years later. You weren't afraid of me then but you refused to call me mum for a week or so before your memories came back. When Gavin came in you completely freaked out. It happened again a year later... a lot like this time actually... you were able to forget everything without me knowing you had for a few hours... and then this time..."

Harry leant against her. "Must have been heart breaking... to have your kid scared of you like that... I'm so sorry mum."

She shook her head and sniffed. "No... no it's not your fault... we don't know what causes these episodes... you should have your memories back in a few days... maybe a week or two..."

Harry nodded slowly and picked up Ignotus from where he was sat of the rug in front of him. "I don't know if Professor Elm would wait that long for me to leave... he really wants me to go and see Mr. Pokémon."

Dalia nodded. "Hm... and I suppose there is nothing we can do in the meantime. Besides, it's not like you're helpless out there, you have your Cyndaquil, and I'll just be a call away with your pokégear." She picked up a box off the table. "It came back from the repair shop. They're not sure how it broke but they put it down to some kind of electromagnetic disturbance. They've fixed the problem now since anyone with a Magnemite would have the same problem."

Harry took the box off her and pulled out a device. It was some kind of wrist strap with a device on it, much larger than a watch. He opened it up and found a bunch of different buttons inside. He absentmindedly changed the display design in the settings menu before wondering how he knew how to. Dalia showed him some of the things it could do, like how to make phone calls and how to exchange details with those nearby by doing it with her one. "Why don't you add Lyra to it before you go?"

Harry nodded. "I'll be alright mum. I'll have Ignotus with me," he gently stroked said Pokémon's head, "And I'm just going to see Mr. Pokémon and then come back. I won't be gone for long."

Dalia nodded and sniffled again. "Alright... but be safe."

He nodded. "I will, don't worry." He gently kissed her forehead before standing up with Ignotus in his arms. "I'm gonna go pack. I'll be back down in a minute." He went upstairs and knelt down in front of his wardrobe. He opened the trunk and began to organise his magical items and place them in his belt-bag. Iggy looked curiously at him and he quietly explained what each item was. He folded the robes up and placed them on the floor beside him and Ignotus curled up on them. The Weasley sweaters and the few other items of clothes he had that fitted were put in a different pile. All his books went in one pocket, his cauldron and potions equipment in another and everything else organised in separate, smaller pockets.

When he was finished with his magical items he started on his other clothes. He packed the backpack with plenty of clean clothes, making sure he had more than enough underwear. He didn't know what the weather was like in this place but from what he could tell it was mostly sunny. He didn't know how far it would be to Mr. Pokémon's house but considering he first had to go to Cherrygrove _city_ he was guessing it would take more than a day or two. Thankfully with the bag being bottomless and feather light he was able to pack excessively without worrying about weight or space.

He had to force himself to not pack everything in the room, as he was used to doing, but did pack extra blankets and one of the stuffed toys on his bed, a Teddiursa. A glance at Iggy happily curled up in his robes had him packing them too and promising Ignotus that he could sleep in them later, but they had other things to do first. He shouldered his bag and went back downstairs, spotting the potions Gavin had given him on the table. He put them in a side pocket of his backpack so they would be easy to access if he needed them. He looked around but couldn't see his mum.

He bit his lip and placed Iggy on the couch. "Wait here a moment, okay? I'm gonna let my mum know we're leaving." He quickly headed back upstairs and found his mum in her room, surrounded by photos. "Mum..."

"Oh! Harry!" she sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and walked over to hug her. He wasn't quite comfortable with physical contact but he was willing to make an exception for her. It was several minutes later than he went back downstairs and smiled at Iggy. "Alright mate, let's get going."

Ignotus nodded and hopped down off the couch. "Quil, cynda Cyndaquil!"

The two of them left the house and headed out of town. Just as they got to the edge Professor Elm came running up. "Wait! One second! Hold on!"

Harry turned back. "Everything okay Professor?"

"Yes, yes. I just remembered, you had to send your Pokégear off for repair didn't you? Here, let me register my number again." They both pressed the button and Professor Elm's number was added to his address book. "I'll call you if anything comes up." He then turned and rushed back into his lab.

"Okay~..." he looked down at Ignotus who was equally confused. "Um... off we go!" he walked a bit further and found a sign. 'RT. 29 West to Cherrygrove City.' "Rout 29? Oh, right all the areas between cities are named routs to make navigating and travelling from one place to another easier." He grinned down at Iggy. "Lucky for us we have a faster way." He reached into his belt-bag and pulled out his broom. He sat astride it and leant down, picked up Iggy and stood up straight. "Ready?"

Iggy looked around and nodded slightly. Harry kicked off the ground and slowly rose up. Iggy held onto his arm tightly before a made a panicked sound and Harry felt his front warm up where the tiny fire type was pressed against him, remindinh him that Cyndaquil have a habbit of setting their back on fire. He gently touched back down and placed Iggy back on the floor, thankful that the fire type hadn't set his shirt on fire. "Sorry. Guess you're afraid of heights huh..." he rubbed the Pokémon's head. "Sorry mate. We'll have to walk then."

"Quil..." Iggy looked down at the ground dejectedly.

"Hey, it's fine. Not everyone likes heights. Don't worry about it." He stood up and looked at the tall grass. He knew from his 'memories' that the grass was full of Pokémon. Mostly types like Rattata, Pidgey, Spearow, Hoothoot, Dunsparce, Mareep, Ekans, Bellsprout, Hoppip, Oddish, Abra, Nidoran / , Yanma, Sunkern, Exeggcute and Sentret. There were trees on either side so things like Caterpie, Weedle, Spinarak, Ledyba, Pineco. Harry shook his head violently and fisted his hair, desperate to get the heap of information sorted out. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

He shook his head again when the information finally settled. Not all of those breeds were available near here since the gap between the rows of trees was too narrow for a lot of breeds. For now, he should stick to the path and focus on getting to Cherrygrove. When he got there, and found the Pokémon centre he and Iggy could battle some of the Pokémon in the fields. As soon as he started walking down the path there was a sharp screech and Harry instinctively held out his arm. A white blur flew down and landed on his arm before sharply biting his ear. "Ow!"

Harry turned his head to face a very angry looking owl. One side of his mind supplied 'Hoothoot' while the other screamed 'Hedwig!' He grinned and ducked another peck, placing a hand on her chest. "Hedwig, easy." She screeched at him again and he chuckled. "I know, I know, I've gone and done something stupid again and you're angry with me. At least now you can stay with me all the time and stop me from doing something stupid again."

It was nearly five minutes later that Hedwig calmed down enough to simply sit and sulk on Harry's shoulder. He sighed and knelt down. "Iggy, this is Hedwig, she's been my friend for the last four years. Hedwig, this is Ignotus or Iggy for short, he's a Cyndaquil and my First Official Pokémon."

Hedwig eyed the shy fire type for a few moments before hooting softly and raising one wing in greeting. Iggy grinned up at her and cheered his own greeting. Harry grinned and stood up, "Alright, to Cherrygrove City!" he set off down the path, slow enough for Iggy, but fast enough that they would cover some good distance. After a few minutes of travel he pulled out his first year charms book and began reading. If he had some time without worrying about schoolwork, Voldemort, evil defence teachers or anything else life threatening then he could spend some time going over his old school books. A few pages in he found _alohomora_. Seriously... it was a few pages in, right between _lumos_ and _wingardium leviosa_... how did he miss it?

As he walked he divided his attention between what was in front of him, his book and Ignotus. Surprisingly he got to the top of a hill from which he could see Cherrygrove City within four hours. He put his book away and looked down at the thoroughly exhausted Ignotus. He picked the tiny Pokémon up. "You did great Iggy. We'll stop by the Pokémon centre and get you checked out now, okay?"

He nodded and rested his head on Harry's arm. "Cyn..."

Harry walked forwards into town and looked around. It was more of a town than a city, though the buildings were far too tall to be considered a town. There was a lot of greenery visible between the buildings. He walked down the path and headed towards the city. It took him half an hour to reach the edge of the city.

"Why hello there, young man."

Harry looked over and saw an elderly man standing at the side of the road. "Hello sir."

"Is this your first time in the city, youngen?"

"Yes sir."

"So well mannered. Since you came from rout 29 I guess you are from New Bark Town? Let me show you around a little." He turned and led Harry down a long path. "Despite being called a city, Cherrygrove is actually the second smallest settlement in Johto, next to New Bark Town. It is the smallest City in the world. Despite being so close to the sea we have a lot of plants you would usually find further inland. The Cherry Blossom Trees are part of what give the town its name." They came up to a large building that somewhat resembled a hospital with a red roof and a white pokéball symbol. "This is the Pokémon Centre. This should be the first place you go to whenever you visit any city. The hospital is that one opposite." Harry turned to look across the road and nodded and the sight of a hospital, complete with red plus sign. The man led him further into the city. "This here is the Pokémart. It's the best place to shop for anything a trainer might need."

The tour didn't last that long, the man showed him the beach, the two hotels, a few restaurants and the entrance to rout 30. "And I'm afraid that is all our little city has to offer really."

Harry smiled. "It's great." And it was true. He much preferred this small city to the busy streets of London. The few people he'd seen seemed friendlier too. Maybe it was the more simplistic, laid back feel this whole world seemed to have. He headed swiftly to the Pokémon centre and had Ignotus and Hedwig checked out, he told the nurse that he'd only just gotten both and he wanted to make sure they were both alright.

The nurse was surprised that he had a white Hoothoot and that he didn't have a pokéball for her. She took him to one of the examination rooms and showed him how to do a basic check up so he could check his Pokémon for injuries or illness while he was travelling. She then used the medical equipment to give them a more thorough check up and pronounced both very healthy Pokémon. When they got back to the lobby she used the computer to print out some data sheets for him, telling him all about Hoothoot and Cyndaquil like their dietary needs and a whole load of other stuff.

He thanked her and headed off to the Pokémart. He used a bit of money he'd brought with him to buy a pokéball and officially captured Hedwig. He let her out right away and smiled nervously at her indignant look. "Now that I've caught you with this pokéball, no one else can capture you with one. It means other trainers who try and take you away from me won't have a chance to begin with."

Hedwig glared at him but settled down. Harry chuckled under his breath and headed towards one of the restaurants the guide had showed him. Thankfully all food establishments served Pokémon food as well as human food. Harry sat at a table in the corner and ordered for the three of them. He looked at Iggy and Hedwig. "Now, either we get a room and stay the night here, or we make a start towards Mr. Pokémon's house and camp out if it's too far away... we'll have to ask someone how far away it is." He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "It's already nearly seven o'clock... we'll definitely stay the night here then."

A soft hoot from Hedwig and a quiet hum from Iggy was all the reply he needed. A waitress came over soon enough with their food and Harry thanked her, tucking in. He'd never really had the chance to explore different foods before. Hogwarts only served traditional English foods, mostly it was just roast chicken, roast beef things like that. He'd cooked a wider variety of foods at the Dursley's. This year was slightly different but after the first feast on Halloween the house elves only put the French foods on the Ravenclaw table and the Bulgarian foods on the Slytherin table, since no one from Hogwarts actually tried them. Now he could branch out and try different foods.

He found he quite liked this, although everything on the menu seemed to be vegetarian. It made sense he supposed, what with all the animals in this world being sentient and capable of fighting back if you tried to kill them. From what he could see of the menu they didn't even have vegi-meat, although again it made sense since vegi-meat was invented so vegetarians could pretend to eat meat and still get the proteins and such.

The three of them finished their food quickly and Harry paid for them, wincing at how little he had left, before they left to find a hotel for the night. They ended up having to stay in the cheapest one as it was the only one Harry could afford. "Seems we'll have to camp out anyway after tonight..."

Iggy and Hedwig sighed unhappily and Harry smiled sadly at them before settling down on the floor of the room. He opened his pokégear and rang his mum. They talked for a little while, he told her of a few more bits of information he'd remembered on his way and assured her he was sure he'd get his memories back soon. He felt horrible for lying to the woman but it was better that she thought her son had lost his memories rather than him either suddenly appearing from nowhere or replacing...

He'd never thought of that...

Did he replace the Harry of this world? Was there already a boy existing and he just took the guy's place?

He shook off his worries before his mum noticed and continued to talk to her for about half an hour before they hung up.

Harry sighed heavily and decided to put it out of his mind. He got out his charms book again and ran through the whole book trying each of the spells. Most of them he was able to do first try, having done them before, the few he hadn't it took a couple of tries to get the pronunciation right but he got them all with little to no effort. He had to practice a few transfigurations to be able to practice the charms as he didn't have any teacups or other things available.

When he finished the book he yawned and climbed into bed with Iggy and Hedwig. He woke early in the morning, before anyone else was up and looked at his two Pokémon. He smiled happily, thankful that yesterday wasn't a dream. He quietly slid out of the bed without waking Iggy and sat on the floor, thinking things through.

After he visited Mr Pokémon and got back to New Bark Town he would probably spend some time with his mother, Lyra and his Pokémon. He might take the opportunity to capture some while he was out, though he would have to find a way to buy some pokéballs... come to think of it, he had no idea what the path to Mr Pokémon's house would be like, he might need another Pokémon to be able to get there in one piece. Thankfully the path from New Bark Town to here was easy enough but if he ventured into the trees, if the trees were closer together or if it was a wide open field then he would definitely have encountered a wild Pokémon.

According to the information that just flooded his mind that is.

He hissed and rubbed his head, wondering when the headaches would stop.

"Quil?"

He looked up and smiled slightly at Ignotus. "I-I'm okay... just a headache..." he smiled slightly for a brief moment before he pitched over sideways. When he opened his eyes he noticed the ceiling was different and was moving... so was the floor... he tilted his head and realised he was on a hospital bed being pushed down a corridor. He was wheeled into a room and he looked at the doctors surrounding him.

"Ah, good, you're awake. Can you tell us what happened young man?"

"Head... hurt... got dizzy... passed out..." he sighed and shook his head slowly. "Hedwig? Iggy?"

"Hedwig and Iggy... oh, you mean your Hoothoot and Cyndaquil! They're both fine. The man who found you is looking after them for you. We need to find out why you fainted like that. You say your head hurt?"

Harry hummed in agreement. "Forgot everything yesterday... starting to remember... hurt."

The doctor hissed slightly. "Well, that is something we can't really do much about. Why did you lose your memories? Head injury?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Apparently it's happened before... I'll be fine."

"I would like to send you for a few scans if that's okay?"

Harry nodded. "Just let me see my Pokémon first. They need to see I'm okay."

"Of course. I'll let them in." The doctor left the room and a few moments later Iggy and Hedwig burst through the door, closely followed by a teen, a few years older than him in a red jacket and cap and a yellow Pokémon on his shoulder. _Pikachu, electric mouse Pokémon._

Harry grinned at his Pokémon, ignoring Hedwig tugging his hair in punishment for scaring her like that. "Hey guys, as you can see I'm fine. The doctor's gonna do a few tests but I'll be fine. Come on Hed, you know me. I can't die."

The teen chuckled. "Good attitude to have."

Harry smirked. "I'm too stubborn." He wasn't about to tell this guy that he'd been in at least thirteen life or death situations. He sobered quickly at the thought. He was fourteen and he'd been in at least thirteen life or death situations... wow. "Would you mind looking after these two while the doctors do some scans?"

"Sure thing. You sure you're going to be okay though?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm Harry by the way, and this is Hedwig and Ignotus."

"Ash, and this is Pikachu."

Harry chuckled.

.oOo. insert more text here .oOo.

Harry looked up at the house. "This must be it... come on then you two." He stepped up to the door and knocked. A voice from inside called, 'it's open!' so Harry let himself in.

A man with a kick ass trench coat and a detective hat came over. "Ah, you must be Harry. It was I who sent the Email to Professor Elm. I... I trust you got here alright? No trouble?"

Harry blinked and nodded. "Yes sir, the journey was fine. It took a little longer than I was expecting to get from Cherrygrove to here but I got to Cherrygrove from New Bark Town much faster than I was expecting."

"Ah, good good. Professor Elm sent a message that you may be experiencing some trouble... something about a health problem?"

Harry grimaced. "Er, I lost all my memories. No idea why, I just woke up not knowing who I am or anything about my life. I'm getting bits back, slowly. It's not too big a problem since I didn't forget things like what Pokémon are and what they can do."

Mr. Pokémon nodded. "Ah, Sudden Onset Amnesia. Not very common and a real mystery to doctors. Well, if you're sure you're okay, we can get down to why you were sent here. Come sit, come sit." He showed Harry to the table. And Harry took a seat while the man scurried off to a cabinet and came back with an egg. It was white with blue and red markings. "This is what I want Professor Elm to examine. A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me." He handed the egg over to Harry, who carefully took it and cradled it in the crook of his arm. "I bet you can't find this kind of egg in Johto."

Harry frowned. "So where did your friend get it?"

"No idea. I didn't think to ask. Anyway, I thought Professor Elm might be able to tell us what this is. He's the best when it comes to the research of Pokémon Evolution according to Professor Oak." He nodded his head towards the other man in the room, an older gentleman in a white lab coat. Harry's mind was suddenly assaulted by several random bits of information about Professor Oak, he winced and tipped his head forward but otherwise gave no indication of the rather sizable headache.

The man stood up and walked around the table. "And with that, I'm Professor Oak, a Pokémon Researcher. So, you're Harry? I was just visiting my Friend Mr. Pokémon. I heard you were running an errand for professor Elm, so I waited here." He looked between Hedwig and Ignotus. "And I'm glad I did. Two rare Pokémon? This is a shiny?"

Harry shrugged the shoulder Hedwig wasn't sitting on. "I think so. Her name is Hedwig, and this is Ignotus."

Oak nodded. "So, professor Elm gave you the Cyndaquil, Ignotus?"

"Yes sir. I'm helping him with some research on the benefits of having a Pokémon outside its pokéball verses inside."

"So polite, you don't see that often in kids these days." He looked closely at Ignotus. "So, you are helping Professor Elm with his research? I think I understand why Elm gave you that Pokémon, instead of having you capture one of your own. You will treat your Pokémon with love and care it seems." He looked back up at Harry and studied him for several minutes. "You seem dependable. How would you like to help me out?"

Harry blinked in shock. "O-of course. What do you need?"

The man pulled out a red device. "See? This is the latest version of the Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. It's a high-tech encyclopaedia. I'd like you to have it."

Harry stared in shock. "W-what? Are you sure, sir?" the thing must be worth a fortune!

"Yes, I'm sure. It'll do me no good. Go and meet many kinds of Pokémon and complete that Pokédex! But, I've stayed too long. I have to get to Goldenrod for my usual radio show. Harry, I have a feeling that this is not the last time we'll meet. Let's exchange numbers just to be on the safe side."

Harry numbly opened his pokégear and registered Professor Oak's number.


	31. Unnamed HP X-Men crossover

This one has been annoying me for a long LONG time.

Story name: Undecided

Genre: Family/Adventure/Hurt/Comfort/Angst

Rating: T/M (depending on how far in detail i go and swear words)

Category: Harry Potter, X-Men Evolution Crossover

* * *

Scott pulled his car into the parking lot of the mall. He, Jean, Rouge, Kitty and Kurt were all out of uniform, but were here on X-Men business.

Jean looked over at then all, specifically Scott. "Remember, the Professor said he had sensed these people, but they haven't done anything. We don't know if they're hostile or not. So keep it calm. We're just going to find them and talk. Find out their intentions."

Scott waved a hand. "We'll be fine, Jean."

Kurt grinned and gave her a tumbs up. "You worry too much. Zis will be no problem for us."

Rouge frowned. "Ah do'n know Kurt. The Professor said Ceribro only get's readin's from mutants actively usin' their powers... one o' these guys had ta be usin' their power for the Professor ta pick it up. It might be a trap."

Kitty nodded. "Like, yeah. Let's just be careful, okay?"

Kurt nodded, becoming more serious. "Right. I didn't think of that. What if one of them has powers like Wanda's?"

Kitty nodded. "Yeah. She was, like, crazy strong and she makes our powers go nuts. If anyone else has a power like that..."

Scott waved a hand again. "You're over thinking things. Let's just do this."

The group walked cautiously into the Mall. They looked around, trying to be conspicuous but slightly failing.

They spotted the group of twelve easily, judging by the guy with the tips of a pair of scaly wings and a tail poking out the bottom of a bulging coat and the girl covered in green fur. They were sitting around a café, heads together, talking. People were giving the group suspicious glances but as they weren't doing anything they left them alone. The group were just picking up their empty cups and stacking the trays when a man walked over to them.

"Hey, Freaks!" The group looked over to him. "Your kind aren't welcome here! Get out!"

The group seemed to shrink into themselves. The green girl hid behind the guy with the wings and tail, who was growling softly, even as he backed up.

Jean walked over. "Is there a problem here?"

One of the group, a messy black-blue haired teen turned and ducked his head. "No ma'am. No problem. We were just leaving."

Scott walked up. "You don't have to leave just because he told you to." He jerked his head towards the man.

The kid shook his head. "We were leaving anyway. It's okay."

Jean shook her head. "No, you shouldn't have to stay away from somewhere just because people don't like that you have powers."

The kid shook his head frantically. "No! We were leaving anyway..."

Kurt stepped up. "The guy has a point. There's no sense arguing against it when you were doing it anyway."

The kid smiled slightly at him.

Scott shook his head. "It's the principle of the thing. These guys shouldn't have to leave somewhere just because someone doesn't like them."

The sandy-haired man in the group stepped forwards. "While I appreciate you standing up for us, we don't need your help right now. There is no sense in starting a fight unnecessarily."

The aggressing man growled and stepped forward. "And what if I want a fight?"

The sandy-haired man turned around, a soft smile stretched across his face, somehow making the scars there seem threatening. "Why do you want to fight? What would you gain from it?"

"You freaks leaving."

"But we're doing that anyway. What else would you gain?"

The man spluttered for a moment. "D-Don't try those mind games on me freak! You can't use your power on me!"

The scared man tilted his head. "My powers have nothing to do with the mind. I can turn into a wolf."

The man growled again and threw a punch. A short, black haired girl held her palm up and the man's fist hit it with a resounding smack that had the man rearing back, clutching his arm. "Argh!"

A woman in a work apron came out of the café proper. "Oh dear, are you okay?"

The man scowled at her. "Do I look okay?"

The woman glared at him. "I wasn't talking to you." She turned to the girl. "Are you alright, dear?"

The girl nodded. "Yup. Invincible." She pointed a thumb at herself. "Barely felt it."

The waitress nodded. "Good." She turned back to the man. "I suggest you leave. These people are paying costumers and we don't like people attacking our customers."

The man glared. "But they're mutants!"

"So what? They came here, paid and haven't bothered my other customers. You on the other hand, came here, caused my customers distress and made a scene and a fool of yourself."

The man growled. "These freaks don't deserve to be around us normal people." He turned on his heel and stormed off, a couple of teens nearby giving slow, sarcastic claps. He growled at them on the way past.

Scott looked at the group. "Sorry you had to deal with him."

The sandy haired man shook his head. "No need to apologise. We've deal with worse. Far worse." He shrugged. "It's human nature to fear what you don't understand. Those who seek to understand seek to remove that fear, even without knowing they're doing it."

Jean nodded. "Wise words. By your accents I'm guessing you're all from England?"

The blue-black haired teen nodded. "Yup. I'm Harry Potter-Hawlett. This is Remus Lupin," the sandy haired man waved, "His Wife Tonks," the pink haired lady inclined her head, "Their son Teddy," the toddler she was holding clapped, hearing his name, "Luna Lovegood," a platinum blond who was staring off at the ceiling somewhere. "Luna... hoi!"

Luna turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry where you talking to me? I was watching the drizzling plimdingers. They seem quite active here."

Harry tilted his head. "Really? Huh... anyway that's Luna. This is Breen," the green furred girl poked her head out from behind the man with wings before ducking out of sight again. "That's Charlie Weasley," the man waved, "His brothers Fred," the twin on the left waved, "And George," the other twin waved, "This is Collin Creevey," a mousy looking kid waved enthusiastically, "His brother Denis," the boy next to him waved nervously, "And Fae Dukes," the short, black haired girl bowed slightly.

Scott nodded. "Right. Nice to meet you all. I'm Scott, this is Jean, Kitty, Kurt and Rouge."

Jean looked over at Remus. "So, what brings you all to Bayville?"

Remus tilted his head. "Well, two things. We're looking for Fae's brother, Fred Dukes, and Harry's father, James Hawlett and we are looking for somewhere called Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Do you know where it is?"

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, we live there."

Breen poked her head back from behind Charlie. "Really? Can you take us there?"

Kurt nodded. "Ya, and we know where you can find Fred Dukes too."

Fae appeared in front of him quite suddenly. "Really? Where?"

Kurt shrugged slightly, "At the Brotherhood. I'll take you there sometime."

Fae grinned and hugged him, "Thank you so much!"

Remus smiled at her. "Don't get ahead of yourself. We need to meet Professor Xavier first. Once we've done that, we can look for Fred and James."

Harry nodded. "We also need somewhere to live. Don't forget, we have nothing."

Remus grimaced. "I haven't forgotten."

Kurt frowned, finally managing to detangle Fae from him. "Nothing?"

Harry shook his head. "Nada."

"At all?"

"Nothing. I won't go into detail but we're lucky to have clothes."

Kurt frowned. "Oh..."

Jean folded her hands. "Are you all mutants?"

Harry shook his head. "Denis isn't. He does have a dormant X Gene. The rest of us are mutants though."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Really? What are your powers?"

Harry chuckled. "Better question would be what _can't_ we do?"

Tonks snorted. "Speak for yourself Harry. The rest of us aren't god incarnate."

Rouge shrugged one arm. "Why don't we just go back ta the manor? You can all see the Professa and you can show us what y'all can do in the danger room."

Kitty nodded, grinning. "Yeah! Let's go!"

Soon enough they were back at the X-van. Scott looked at them. "Um... do you have a ride?"

Harry smirked. "We have nothing. Don't worry, we can fly. You drive and lead the way." He waved a hand in a dramatic gesture towards the van.

Jean shared a look with Scott before turning back. "I'll fly with you. Can you all fly?"

Breen turned into some kind of giant bird and Collin and Denis hopped onto her back, Charlie spread his wings and Fae hopped onto his back while Harry's hands seemed to glow for a moment before the other's levitated slightly.

Jean smirked. "Tonks and Teddy can ride in the van if you like."

Kurt looked inside the van for a second. "We could get a few more of you if you want, I can port right back to the manor."

Tonks looked at Teddy before sharing a glance with Remus. She stepped up to Kurt. "Can you take passengers? I know Harry can't."

Kurt nodded. "Ya," he looked to Harry. "You can teleport?"

Harry nodded. "You know every power you've ever seen? I most likely have it." He chuckled slightly at the incredulous expressions on everyone's faces. "Yeah, it's complicated. I'll tell you about it later."

Tonks nodded. "If you could Port me and Teddy to the manor that would be appreciated."

Kurt nodded. "Sure, just take my hand."

She hesitated slightly. "It's safe for kids?"

"Absolutely."

She nodded and took his hand. A moment later they were gone in a puff of smoke. The twins closed their eyes for a moment. George smiled. "They're fine."

Harry nodded. "Alright. If you guys wanna ride in the van then?"

Kitty nodded. "Yeah, there's plenty o' room."

Fred, George, Luna and Fae climbed into the van. Collin and Denis sent a thumbs up from Breen's back and Charlie copied the motion.

Harry nodded to them and looked to Jean. "Lead the way then."

Jean smirked. "Try to keep up."

She lifted up into the air and flew off towards the manor. Harry shifted into a raven and followed, with Breen and Charlie following. They easily followed Jean through the skies until a manor was visible on top of a hill next to a cliff. They landed outside the front doors as Tonks, Teddy, the professor and Logan came out.

As soon as he shifted back into his human form Harry knew, without a doubt, the man standing in front of him was his father. James Logan Hawlett.

.oOo.

Fred and George – telepathy (Charlie's brothers)

Remus Lupin – werewolf (Tonks' husband, Teddy's father)

Tonks – human class shape shifter (A shape shifter who can anly turn into other humans) (Remus' Wife, Teddy's mother)

Teddy – werewolf, Human class shape shifter (Remus &amp; Tonks' son)

Luna – spirit medium and fortune teller

Breen – Beast class shape shifter (A shape shifter that can only turn into animals, but isn't limited by non-fictional rules, can turn into fictional animals too)

Charlie – Dragon hybrid (Fred &amp; George's brother)

Collin – Technomancer (Denis' Brother)

Denis – no power (Collin's Brother)

Harry – weapon XII (all powers of Weapon XI plus whatever else the scientists had on hand. To avoid OP!Harry, his skills aren't quite as good as anyone else's. so while Breen can shape shift into anything, Harry has a more limited selection and has to understand the shape he's shifted into the be able to move in it. The Raven is his animagus form.)

Fae Dukes – strong woman, super flexibility (Fred Dukes' twin sister, both abandoned by their mother when they were born and Fae was adopted, Fred wasn't and eventually ended up in the circus)


	32. Naruto Jurassic Park crossover

Story name: undecided

Genre: ?

Rating: ?

Category: Naruto, Jurassic Park cross over

* * *

It's a little known secret, but the fourth Hokage was allergic to fur and feathers. He regulated this allergy with medication but even still, he couldn't be around them much.

Unfortunately, that allergy was passed down to his son. The fox knew of this allergy of course, how could he not? He knew everything about his host. At the moment his newborn host was currently in a private room in the Sarutobi estate, being tended to by the best medic in Konoha.

The medic sighed and stood back from the bed. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. There isn't much I can do. It seems poor Naruto inherited his father's allergy to fur. There is little I can do to cure an allergic reaction caused by something sealed inside him."

The Hokage sunk into his chair. "There's nothing you can do?"

The medic shook his head. "No. If Naruto didn't have this allergy, or if the fox were something other than a fox, it wouldn't be a problem."

Kurama's head shot up within the seal. If he were something else? He could do that... he liked this form but if his form would kill his host, and the seal would kill him if his host died, then he could change it. He was made of chakra so he wasn't tied down to one form like mortals were. Besides, no reason he couldn't change it back later if he managed to escape without dying.

Kurama pulled up his chakra and twisted it, changing his form. It would take a good month since he was sealed, otherwise it would only take a week. As long as his host survived that long, he would be fine. Now... since he couldn't be anything with fur he would have to have scales. Fangs and claws were a must. Not anything like a snake, he still held a grudge against Manda for that incident a few hundred years ago.

What about those Uzumaki summons?

Some of them were pretty fierce... in fact...

He smirked.

"**That'll do.**"

.oOo.

Five year old Naruto sat against the back wall of his apartment. He rubbed the bump on the back of his head and winced. The villagers were pretty wild up today. It was his birthday, and the anniversary of when the Fourth Hokage killed the nine-tailed fox.

That meant a large, angry, and most importantly, very drunk mob.

He barely got away. Naruto stood slowly as his head swam and slowly made his way into his bedroom, collapsing on the old, moth eaten bed as soon as he got there. He immediately drifted off to sleep.

.oOo.

_Where am I?_ Naruto thought as he walked down a seemingly endless sewer pipe. He soon came across a huge room with a giant cage at the back. "Woah..."

As he stepped closer there was movement from behind the cave and a giant clawed hand shot out from behind it. It was long and covered in white scales with four clawed fingers, each with a long, sharp and most importantly deadly looking claw at the end. The elbow just cleared the bars and Naruto could see spikes that almost looked like feathers on the underside of the arm. Thinner and smaller near the hand and longer and thicker near the elbow.

"Woah..." he watched the claws draw backwards into the cage, having fallen only a few feet short of where he was standing.

"**Come closer, little human.**"

"Nope." Naruto said. He looked further into the cage but it was too dark. Naruto sighed slightly, wishing there was better light in here. His eyes widened as the place lit up with unseen lights and he was able to see within the cage.

The arm was attached to a giant scaly thing. It was white with a huge head and a lot of teeth. There were spikes on its head and back. Its back feet were huge but only had three toes. It had nine long scaly tails swishing behind it.

Naruto frowned. "What are you?"

The thing growled. "**I am Kurama. The nine tails. Kyūbi.**"

Naruto tilted his head. "I thought you were a fox?"

The massive head swung from side to side slightly. "**I used to be but since you, my idiot host, are allergic to fur, I had to change my form or you would die. And since the seal would have killed me if you died, I had to take measures to prevent that.**"

Naruto blinked. "What do you mean by that? Besides, I thought the fourth Hokage killed you?"

Kurama shook his head. "**No, little one. I cannot be killed. I am made of chakra. Even if my physical body was damaged enough to kill I can simply make a new body, as I had to do when I found out I was killing us both in my other form.**"

Naruto looked the beast over. "You look better like this. It's way cooler."

Kurama stepped back slightly. "**Aren't you afraid of me?**"

Naruto shook his head. "No. If I die, you die, right?"

The thing nodded. "**Indeed.**" It was silent for a moment. "**How did you make it lighter in here? I've been trying for years to make it brighter.**"

Naruto shrugged. "I just wanted it to be brighter and it was."

The thing swung its head slightly. "**Could you... alter the room completely?**"

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

"**A forest, with big, tall trees.**"

Naruto shrugged and focused. Within a few minutes he and the nine tails were soon adding things left right and centre, creating more and more to the mindscape. In the end, Kurama was left to free roam the mindscape with a special collar that had the same patterns on it as the seal. They both sat on top of a hill looking over the forest and Naruto turned to Kurama. "So... what are you?"

Kurama tilted his head. "**I am one of a special species of summon the Uzumaki clan used to have. I believe this one was called 'Indominus Rex'.**"

Naruto nodded and the conversation moved onto other things.

.oOo.

Naruto looked up at the fence of training ground 44. _Are you sure?_

**Yes. You'll be fine. You were able to jump a higher wall than this. It's only blocked off because of the creatures in there but none of them will come near you with my chakra.**

_Are you sure? I've only been training for a few months..._

**Yes. Now come on, little one. You'll do fine. Jump.**

Naruto took a deep breath. "Okay..." he crouched down slightly and took off into the air with a chakra enhanced jump. He easily cleared the fence and landed with a roll on the other side.

**Good. Quickly and quietly now. It's not far.**

Naruto nodded and slipped into the forest. Within about twenty feet of the door Kurama called him to stop and he circled a particular tree. He eventually found the hole in the roots and slid in, finding the short tunnel with the sealed door.

**Good. Now, cut your finger a tiny bit and wipe it on that seal in the middle.** Naruto did so and the door opened. **Good. Go on inside.**

Naruto took a deep breath and walked in. His eyes widened. The entrance room was circular with seven doors leading off of it. There was a soft, pale blue carpet with a spiral pattern on the floor with a blood red, spiral patterned rug in the centre. He closed the door he had just come from and noticed it had an image of a gate with the number 12 on it.

**That's because this entrance is near to gate 12. There are several other entrances each marked differently depending on where it is in the forest. There are even a few that lead outside. There used to be a basement level that spread across the whole of the village but it was closed off for some reason.**

Naruto nodded and walked around, looking through each of the doors. Two were bathrooms, four were cupboards, two were long, empty corridors and the final one was a long corridor with doors down it. "Where do those go?"

**This place is huge Naruto. There are 44 other rooms like this one that lead to the other gates. The first corridor on the left and right lead to the gate on either side. There is a dining hall and kitchen every four gates. The corridors are set out like a spider's web. There are 22 corridors that cut lengthways across the training ground. There is a chamber, just like this one, in the middle but way bigger that cuts the corridors in half, each numbered from one to 44 depending on its location with other corridors at four locations down each one leading to the other corridors. There is a dining cavern down a staircase there with a huge kitchen. It could feed the whole village if it needed to. Each of the doors down the even numbered corridors are apartments. Two or three bedrooms, bathroom and a kitchen/dining room. The rooms down the odd numbered corridors are social rooms like libraries, training rooms, classrooms. There are medical facilities at either end of all the corridors. **

**This place was originally designed by the Uzumaki as a safe house in case the village ever got attacked. They ended up putting the blood seal in place at the start because they didn't want to risk enemy ninja mapping it out while they were still building it. Then a load of trouble came up with the Uchiha and it was kept a secret but for the Uzumaki. There haven't been many in the village though...**

Naruto nodded. "This place is cool."

**It's perfect for us. You can stay here and no one will be able to get to you, you are close enough to the village to get to the academy on time but far enough away that you can feel safe from the villagers.**

Naruto nodded. "Kurama, you're the coolest."

Kurama grinned. **Why thank you. Now, let's get you a set of rooms and we can begin training.**

.oOo.

Naruto ran down the tunnels under the Hokage tower. _Stupid receptionist. Stupid villagers. Stupid ANBU._

**Naruto. Stop cursing people and focus. Left.**

The seven year old turned left and sprinted down another tunnel. A few more turns and he hit a dead end.

Literally.

With his face.

It wasn't even a dead end, more of a deep alcove if anything. As he lay on the floor clutching his broken and already healing nose there was a quiet grinding noise and he looked at the section on wall he ran into which was now slowly sliding to reveal a doorway. He blinked and slipped in, pushing a panel just on the inside of the door that immediately started the door closing. Just as it shut he heard some people yelling down the corridor. "The demon brat went this way!"

Naruto smiled in the total darkness and listened as the men ran past the alcove/dead end he had run into. He turned and looked around. _See anything?_

**I see what you see.**

Naruto shrugged and activated a few different jutsu Kurama had taught him. His vision altered first to heat vision, which indicated something further ahead, then to a number of other types. His night vision was little help in total darkness. He spotted a stone on a pedestal next to him and pushed a bit of chakra at it to use echo location. The thing lit up and with it, a number of other stones. Soon the whole room was lit and Naruto made his way forwards, investigating the thing in the middle of the room.

**Those are Raptor eggs...**

_Raptor?_

**One of those summons of the Uzumaki clan. Are they still alive?**

_Let me check._ Naruto switched between his visions and found a barrier seal around the eggs. He looked carefully at the barrier, letting Kurama examine it. _Well?_

**A stasis barrier... the eggs are still in the same state they went in there in. Those eggs will hatch, Naruto.**

_Cool._

**No. Not cool. Those things are dangerous if not trained properly, they will need to see you as the Alpha. They also need to be taught not to kill other people. If you can sign the contract they will listen to you but I have no idea where it could be.**

_It has to be here somewhere. They wouldn't put the eggs here without the contract._ Naruto looked around the room and found a giant scroll in a box at the back of the room with a number of different things in them. He unrolled it and grinned. Kurama directed him on how to sign the contract and Naruto easily did.

**Now for the hard part. You have to summon one.**

Naruto gulped. Kurama directed him on the hand signs and helped him shape his chakra. With the Rex's help Naruto summoned a Raptor first try.

The Raptor looked at him. "So... we finally get summoned." It looked around the room. "So you found us. Alright. Now, for your test. Other summons have battles but we fight differently to other summons. For us, your test is to raise and train those eggs. Do it properly, and you get to keep our contract. We'll speak again in a few years." The Raptor burst into smoke.

Naruto blinked and sighed. "I was expecting more."

**Indeed. For now, take the eggs. There's a bag in the box you can use.**

Half an hour later Naruto was climbing out a window of the Hokage tower and off towards Training Ground 44.

.oOo.

Naruto looked over his eggs and barely held himself back from humming as they rocked and cracked. "Almost. Come on babies. You can do it..." as cracks began to appear in the shells Naruto began to croon in Raptor at the eggs. Kurama being inside him naturally gave him the ability to speak to anything of the same species. If he had remained a fox, he would be able to speak to foxes, since he was now one of those summons, Naruto could speak the summons language.

Slowly, bits of shell came off the eggs and Naruto gently gathered his newly hatched Raptors to him and fed them chopped bits of meat he had prepared. Soon he had a clutch of nine tiny raptors eating from him. "My little ones..." he cooed.

**They need names.**

"I know... let's see..." Naruto looked them over and thought for a while. Names like chomper would be obvious and while it would be good for a pet dog, it wasn't good for a Raptor summons. "Tsume? Maybe? It means Claw... nah. Kiba's mom would kill me. Um... I don't know..."

**What about Asahi, Iroha, Ueno, Eigo, Osaka, Kawase, Kitte, Kurabu and Keshiki.**

Naruto tilted his head. "Where'd you get those names?"

**They're part of a way of saying the alphabet so people don't get confused when you're spelling something out loud. Asahi, A. Iroha, I. Ueno, U. Eigo, E. Osaka, O. Kawase, Ka. Kitte, Ki. Kurabu, Ku. Keshiki, Ke. It's used by the Anbu sometimes.**

Naruto shrugged. "Alright then." He looked down at the now full baby Raptors who were looking up at him curiously. "Asahi." He pointed at the first. "Iroha." He pointed to the second, and continued until he had named each of them. "Now then babies, what do we do next?" he crooned at them and carefully led them into his bedroom. He gently placed each of them on his bed and they seemed confused by the material. He kept crooning at them, the same way a mother or alpha would with newly hatched ones.

Soon all his raptors were asleep in the middle of his bed and Naruto was in the sitting room practicing the shadow clone technique.

.oOo.

Nine year old Naruto slowly crept through the bushes, his raptors fanning out and circling the target. One let out a sharp noise that caught the prey's attention. It made the noise again and the prey growled. It stalked towards the bush. Just as it got close, the nine Raptors launched out of the bushes. Within seconds the tiger was dead. Naruto easily stepped out of the bushes and stepped over to look over his raptors. Once assuring none of them were injured he stepped over to the tiger.

"Good work guys."

He carefully skinned it and took a large chunk of the meat before stepping back and letting his raptors have the rest. He sealed the meat away for later and looked around, keeping watch while his pack ate.

Just as they were finishing Naruto sensed something approaching at a fast pace. He barked out a warning and they all scattered into the bushes. Only moments later two people and a dog landed in the clearing. Naruto looked them over. He recognised Kiba's mom, Tsume, and her dog, Kuromaru. The other woman, he didn't know.

"Damn." The unknown woman cursed. "We're too late. Again." She kicked the corpse.

Naruto felt his pack bristle in anger and confusion. They had never seen other humans before, other than Naruto's shadow clones, but they don't count.

Kuromaru sniffed the air and growled. "They're still here... Ten of them if I'm right... wait... one is human..."

Naruto barked and his Raptors scattered further into the bushes.

"What was that?" Tsume asked.

"That is what we're after. These things have killed one of those tigers a day for weeks. They can't keep doing this. And you've seen the reports. The other animals' numbers have been depleting for ages. These things have to be stopped. What if they're one of Orochimaru's experiments?"

Tsume sighed. Both women were now back to back and looked into the bushes. "So, what do we do, Anko?"

"Well," the woman, now named Anko looked right at where Naruto had been. "One of them is human, right? Why don't we just chase them down, kill the things and capture the human for interrogation?"

"We are currently surrounded and they can hear you." Kuromaru huffed. "Look, just come out!"

Naruto growled. "Lower your weapons!"

The two women blinked. Anko frowned. "A kid?"

Tsume frowned. "Wait..." she sniffed the air. "Naruto?"

Naruto slowly crept forwards and slipped out of the bushes. He felt his pack pressing closer but still hiding, waiting for orders. "Tsume-Sama."

Tsume blinked. "Naruto... what are you doing here?"

Naruto barked and his pack slid out of the bushes, neck spikes raised, toes tapping. He turned back to them. "I'm training my pack. They don't know what humans, or dogs," he nodded to Kuromaru, "are. Let them get your scent. Let them learn you."

He turned to his raptors. "_Friends. Allies. They are Alpha's of the other packs. Sniff, don't attack._" Naruto was thankful he had raised them knowing he was Alpha of this pack, but he lived in an Area where there were many Alpha's, each with small, four or five member packs and all worked under the Big Alpha, the Hokage. "Careful. Don't startle them."

His raptors slowly stepped forwards and sniffed the two women and the nin-dog. The three of them stood stiffly, letting the raptors circle them.

Naruto switched between his visions, looking both women and dog over. He was curious about what he could see on Anko. He stepped forwards and his pack immediately stepped back. He stepped closer to her. "Your pulse is racing. Your temperature is rising." He sniffed slightly. He could smell a small amount of fear but there was something else. "Are you afraid?"

"Little bit. Mostly just turned on."

Naruto hissed slightly and his Raptors echoed his call, neck spikes raising again and jaws wide, ready to defend the Alpha.

"Okay, that's hot." Anko looked around his pack. Naruto could clearly see the want in her eyes. "So deadly. What are they?"

"Raptors. Part of an Uzumaki clan summons."

Anko looked at him. "Uzumaki Clan? I didn't know you had a clan."

Tsume looked sideways at her. "Uzushiogekure no sato."

"Oh... right... wait, he's from _That_ Uzumaki clan? Seriously? I just thought it was a coincidence."

Tsume sweatdropped. "No. Obviously."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "My Mother was Kushina Uzumaki, remember?" Both women swung their heads to look at him. There was a moment of silence as both women looked at him in disbelief. Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm a Jinchūriki, she was my Bijū's last host. I have the marks to prove I was born of a Jinchūriki. Seriously, how could I not figure it out?"

Both women looked slightly embarrassed. Tsume rubbed the back of her neck. "Right. You... weren't supposed to know about her..."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not supposed to know about a lot of things. I'm a shinobi. I learn. You didn't seriously think I would go my whole life without realising I'm sharing my body with a tailed-beast?"

Anko barked a laugh. "I like you kid. You got sass."

Naruto eyes her. "I'm not sure if I should be afraid or not." Iroha barked at Naruto. He looked over to her and barked back and she backed down slightly. "I'm leaving now." He didn't give them time to answer as he barked and shot off into the forest, his pack close on his heels.

.oOo.

Naruto let his pack into their home and shut the door. As he was walking across the room he felt a nudge and on a whim summoned a Raptor. He had done this several times at the beginning to ask for advice or instruction. The Raptor looked at him before turning to evaluate his pack. They seemed curious about this new one, as they had not seen him before. He was the same one Naruto had first summoned.

Eventually, after much barks, cries and shrieks the raptor turned to Naruto. "You've done well with them. We need to take them for additional training but they will be available for you to summon soon. You may keep the contract. If you summon, someone will answer."

Without any warning the Raptor disappeared along with Naruto's pack.

Naruto looked around hopelessly for a moment before going into the bedroom. He curled up in the bed and went to sleep. He and his pack had trained to be able to sleep anywhere at any time and be able to be fully rested. You never knew what situation you would find yourself in.

Didn't stop him being lonely though.

.oOo.

Two weeks later Naruto was about to head into the forest to hunt when he felt a slight tug and suddenly found himself being pulled against his will. He swirled in circles for a moment before appearing in a large, open space. Nine scaly faces appeared next to him and he greeted his pack warmly, assuring they were safe as they did to him. He was also looking around the room at the others. There were other summons of different breeds spread around the room. Most had two or four legs but some had wings.

When his pack was sure of his continued health they turned to look at the others with him.

A large shape stepped forwards. Naruto instantly recognised it as an Indominus Rex. Kurama growled inside the seal and Naruto's pack hissed and pressed closer.

The King stood still a moment. "**They really care for you**."

Naruto bared his teeth. "Of course they do. I raised them from eggs! They are my Pack and I am their Alpha!"

The King tilted his great head slightly. "_**Hmm... this kid is more than he seems... not many can create such a close bond...**_"

Iroha hissed. "_Alpha is a great Alpha! He cares for all of us!_"

"_**No doubt, little one. You all came to us in impeccable condition. But he did send you away.**_"

"I did not!" Naruto shouted. "I would never turn my Pack away!" he placed a hand on Keshiki's neck. The littlest Raptor leant closer to him. "They are my family! I would never turn them away!"

The King jerked backwards in shock. "**You understood me**?"

"Of course I do! And I don't appreciate you telling my Pack lies!"

The king frowned. "**I was told you had not wished to keep your pack.**"

Naruto snarled and felt his chest start vibrating with the force of it. "I would never turn them away. The one I summoned to evaluate them for the test took them without any warning or explanation or giving me a chance to say goodbye."

The king tilted his head again. "**Test? You haven't been given your test yet**."

Naruto frowned. "I was told my test was to raise my Raptors and if I did it right I would be allowed to keep the contract."

The king snarled and looked over to one side. Naruto followed his gaze and saw the Raptor he'd summoned. "_**What does he mean**__?_"

The Raptor hissed. "_He's a kid. He shouldn't have been able to summon me at all, let alone raise nine Raptors. He was supposed to get eaten. Humans can't be trusted._"

The king growled but paused as everyone turned to look at Naruto and his pack. Iroha snarled. "_You what? Alpha..._"

Naruto looked to the King. He nodded slightly. Naruto locked eyes with the Raptor and with a wordless roar he charged, his Raptors hot on his heels. The other's all scattered, leaving the single Raptor alone to face Naruto's pack's wrath.

He didn't last more than a minute.

Naruto immediately began tending his Pack's wounds. Iroha first, being his Beta, followed by Keshiki, being the smallest and most wounded of the Pack, before moving onto the others.

The king stepped forwards. "**So, human, how can you speak our language**?"

Naruto nodded. "I am the Jinchūriki of the Nine-tailed Indominus Rex."

The king blinked twice. "**Nine-Tailed Indominus Rex... I thought the Kyūbi was a fox.**"

Naruto shrugged. "He was. I'm allergic to fur so he changed. He sais 'hi' by the way."

**I did not.**

_Shut up._

The King laughed as well as a giant reptile could. "**I like you kid. Now for your test. You have to fight me, without your pack**."

"_No way! We won't let him fight without us!_" Iroha hissed. Her cry echoed by the rest of the pack.

The King looked down at them.

Naruto shook his head. "No, you already got hurt fighting that other Raptor. I won't let you get hurt fighting him. You're too young still, we haven't trained for this."

His pack hissed. Kawase barked. "_I want to fight!_"

"No. I won't stand by and let you get injured. I can handle it but I won't put you in danger."

His pack hissed and Naruto hissed back. It was only after almost half an hour of hissing that his pack finally backed down and stood to the side, waiting the tender hooks and ready to jump in at any second.

Naruto turned to the King. _Ready Kurama?_

**Hell yeah. I've been wanting a chance to try this out.**

Naruto stood still for a moment before nodding to the king and charging towards him. The King charged towards him and reached down to bite him. Naruto felt a surge of chakra and felt his whole form shift. Suddenly he was growing at an alarming rate. He sank his new fangs into the King's neck and the Rex backed off looking at Naruto, who was now a nine-tailed Indominus Rex, slightly taller than him.

Naruto took a mental backseat and let Kurama take control, he was more familiar with this body than he was. Kurama growled and grinned, charging towards the King. Everyone stood in awe as two Titans clashed with fangs and claws. Fortunately for Naruto, he had an unfair advantage.

Nine tails, each capable of independent movement and a greater range of motion than would otherwise be offered to one. And they had spikes on the end.

Kurama thrust one tail after the other at the King, the summons unable to dodge in time.

Naruto winced as with each wound Kurama received, his mind was drawn closer and closer to the surface. Finaly, just as they were about to switch control he managed to get the king pinned to the floor, tails restricting any and all movement. His teeth lay gently against the Titan's throat and they stayed pinned like that together for several moments before Kurama let him go.

Kurama stepped back into the centre of the clearing as the King stood back up. Kurama let control of Naruto go and he shifted back into his human form. He swayed slightly and felt Iroha steady him from behind. His vision blurred and flickered for a moment.

The king stepped forwards. "**Little one?**"

Naruto felt his eyes roll backwards in his head and he fell limp onto the floor. He heard his pack shrieking and startled roars from the other summons before he finally blacked out.

.oOo.

Naruto felt something dabbing at his head and slowly opened his eyes. He came face to face with a scaly reptilian face he didn't recognise. The thing pulled back, a damp washcloth in its mouth. Naruto sat up and looked around. A bark drew his attention to his pack, huddled on a bed against one wall.

The head moved and slid out of the hole in the wall, leaving Naruto alone with his pack.

Iroha hissed in displeasure. "_We told you to let us fight with you!_"

"I couldn't let you get hurt. You're my Pack. I'm the alpha. Protecting you is my priority."

"_Well maybe you shouldn't be the Alpha._"

"Iroha. I don't like this tone. I'm the Alpha. Don't challenge me."

Iroha hissed and jumped at him. Naruto struck his hand out and hit her under the jaw with a chakra enhanced palm strike. She rolled away from him and stood back up. She hissed and he hissed back. An official challenge for Alpha. Iroha looked to the rest of the pack and hissed. They stayed silent and looked towards Naruto.

Naruto hissed and the pack hissed. Iroha hissed in anger and lunged at Naruto again. He deflected her again. Twice more she charged and on the fourth charge he pinned her down, holding her in place with one hand pressing on her throat. "Enough."

"_No! You can't be the Alpha! You can't protect yourself! How can you protect us?!_"

"I was in a fight out of my depth. I used an experimental technique and it backfired. I made a bad choice that put myself in danger but I ensured that you, my pack, were safe. That is what an Alpha does. They protect their pack even at the cost of their own life! You are my family! My children! I will do anything for you! I would gladly die for you!"

Iroha stilled under him. "_I don't want to lose you..._"

"I'm a shinobi. It's an occupational hazard."

Iroha hissed but went limp below him. He let her up and she slunk back into the pack. Asahi nipped at her neck and she flinched.

Naruto carefully stood up and walked over to his pack. He settled down with them around him and felt them all relax. It was always tough on everyone when someone challenged him as Alpha. Iroha had done it twice before. Kawase had done it once. Asahi had made the initial challenge but backed down when he hissed at her.

Just as they were getting comfortable a T-Rex poked his head next to the hole in the wall. "King wants to see you if you're well enough."

Naruto nodded and stood up, leaning slightly on Keshiki as they followed the Rex. It was only a few minutes before they got to their destination. A clearing similar to the first but with a raised section at one end where the Indominus Rex was sitting, clearly wounded.

Naruto nodded to him. "You asked to see me?"

He nodded. "**I did. You fought well. As you did defeat me, even if you used the Kyūbi to do it,**" Naruto blushed and looked down. "**I will name you as the master of our summon contract. If anyone wants to sign it, they have to get your permission and you are the one to carry our scroll with you.**"

Naruto nodded. "Right. Thank you."

The King nodded. "**As one of out summoners, you get a set of armour. If combined with a jutsu, it will completely camouflage you.**"

Naruto grinned and looked at the box a small quadruped brought over. He opened it up and grinned wider. "Thank you."

The king nodded once. "**You and your Pack are free to return home whenever you like**."

Keshiki looked up at Naruto. "May we go now, Alpha?"

Naruto nodded to him. "Sure." He nodded to the Indominus. "Thank you."

The Kind inclined his head. "**You give a good fight. I may challenge you again someday**."

Naruto smiled and nodded. A Raptor, an old one, stepped forwards and made a few hand signs. And suddenly Naruto and his Pack were swirling through space until they reached their Home.

.oOo.

Naruto walked back over to where he had a shadow clone possessed by Kurama reading the forbidden scroll. "Nearly done?"

"Yep. Just a bit more."

"Hurry. Mizuki should be here soon."

Kurama nodded. "Roll in the dirt a bit more, you're still too clean."

Naruto rolled his eyes but none the less lay down and rolled on the dusty ground. He knew Mizuki was setting a trap for him, which was why he had a shadow clone inform the Hokage while he was stealing the scroll what was going on. The old man had approved Naruto's last minute strategy and got everything prepared.

Kurama was only a few from the end when they sensed someone coming. Kurama instantly dispelled and Naruto quickly rolled up the scroll and shoved it behind him with the Dino-summon scroll. It was the first time he wore it in public. He'd left the room in Training Ground 44 a while ago. He and his pack had moved back into the village shortly before the first clutch of eggs had been laid.

Naruto froze as Iruka came into the clearing. Naruto blinked and barked as he purposefully fell backwards as if in shock. His pack settled in the bushes where they were hiding, waiting. Naruto put on his usual goofy grin.

.oOo.

"Naruto..." Iruka growled. What was this idiot thinking stealing the forbidden scroll?

"Hey, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head with one hand.

Iruka looked the kid over. His clothes were covered in dust and dirt. "Hey, you look all beaten up, what were you doing here?"

Naruto shook his head. "Never mind that. Hey, Hey! I'm going to try an incredible jutsu. If I do it, let me graduate!"

_So... he was practicing here? Enough to damage his body. _"Naruto... where did you get that scroll?"

Naruto grinned. "Mizuki-sensei told me about it, and this place too! He said if I showed you this skill I'd definitely graduate."

Iruka frowned. _Mizuki?_ He was about to question Naruto further when he sensed movement off to the side. He quickly stepped forwards and pushed Naruto out of the way, taking the full brunt of the attack himself. He grunted in pain as he collided with the old shed and felt the blades pierce him in multiple places. He was thankful for how think the flack-jacket was.

He looked up to see Mizuki in a tree.

Mizuki smirked. "Nice job finding the moron."

Iruka grit his teeth and pulled a kunai out. "I see... so that's what's going on..."

Mizuki turned to Naruto, who was standing up. "Naruto. Give me the scroll."

Iruka yanked another kunai out. "Naruto! Whatever happens, don't give him that scroll! That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu written inside it! Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

Mizuki smirked. "Naruto, there's no point in you having it. I'll tell you the truth."

Iruka paled and pulled another kunai out. No... he couldn't... "No! Don't!"

Mizuki smirked wider. "Twelve years ago, you know about the demon fox being sealed right? Since that day, a special rule was made for this village. But that rule was never meant to be told to you."

Naruto blinked. "What? A Rule? What kind of rule?"

Mizuki got a dark, sadistic look on his face. "The Rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the nine tailed fox."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked in complete disbelief.

"No! Stop it!" Iruka shouted, pulling yet another kunai out. _Don't you get it? He doesn't need to know._

"It means that you are the nine-tailed fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village. You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and-"

"Shut up!" he shouted, desperate to protect his student from this painful secret.

"Were lied to by everyone."

Naruto looked down, shoulders shaking. Iruka felt a strange pulling at his chest at the sight of one of his students, one of his closest students, so torn up.

"Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you?" Mizuki pulled one of his windmill shuriken off his back and started spinning it. "Iruka is the same! He also hates you!"

Naruto's shoulders started shaking harder. _Damn it... he's never known a parent's love and is hated by all the villagers._

"Nobody will ever love you!"

_So to get attention he causes a lot of trouble. He wants people to acknowledge his existence in any way possible._

"That scroll was used to seal you up!"

_He acts tough but he truly is suffering..._

Iruka saw Mizuki about to throw the shuriken and leapt in front of Naruto, taking the shuriken to the back. He staggered a step forward and felt Naruto's hands on his chest, steadying him. He looked up into the confused and alarmed eyes of his student.

"Why..."

Iruka smiled. "My parents... after they died there was nobody to complement or acknowledge me. I always acted like an idiot just to get people's attention. Since I wasn't good in things like learning or homework, it was better than being nothing so I kept acting like an idiot. It was so painful..." he felt tears run down his face. "Naruto... you also have been in a lot of pain... I'm sorry Naruto... if I'd only done a better job you wouldn't have to feel like this..."

Naruto looked strangely at him before darting off into the trees.

"Naruto!"

.oOo.

Naruto stood, watching Iruka and Mizuki as he put his claw blades on. He used a seal-less jutsu to camouflage himself, having been wearing his summoners uniform, which he now knew was made from Indominus scales, underneath his jumpsuit, which he had now taken off.

_Have I ever told you just how awesome an Indominus Rex is?_

**I think you've mentioned it once or twice.**

_Well, they're awesome._

Mizuki laughed. "Naruto isn't the type of person to have a change of heart and I think he's planning to use the scroll to get revenge. You saw those eyes earlier. The eyes of a real demon."

Iruka grunted as he pulled the shuriken from his back. "Naruto... isn't like that..." he panted, barely keeping himself standing.

"Well, that doesn't really matter. I'll kill Naruto and get the scroll. I'll take care of you later." Mizuki jumped into the bushes and ran off in the direction Naruto had.

Iruka cursed and henged into Naruto, henging a log into a scroll as he did so and rushing off. Naruto followed, a shadow clone already tracking Mizuki. He smirked when Mizuki showed up looking like Iruka. _Did he think that would work?_

"Naruto! Hurry, give me the scroll! Mizuki is after you!"

Iruka leapt forwards and smashed into Mizuki, sending them both crashing to the ground. Iruka landed at the base of a tree and sat on the ground, leaning against the tree.

Mizuki pushed himself up. "Why... Naruto?" he dropped the henge. "How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"

Iruka laughed and dropped his henge. "Because I'm Iruka."

Mizuki smirked and shook his head slightly. "I see. Hehehe, you'd even transform into what killed your parents to protect him."

Iruka snarled. "I won't hand the scroll over to someone like you!"

"You idiot! Naruto and I are the same." He got a manic look in his eyes. "If you use the skills in that scroll you can do whatever you want! There's no way the demon fox wouldn't try to use the power of the scroll. Unlike what you're assuming."

There was a slight pause before Iruka nodded. "Yeah."

Naruto winced and felt a stabbing pain in his chest. _So much for that._

"The demon fox would do that. But Naruto is different. He is... I've acknowledged him as one of my precious students. He may not be the hardest worker and he is clumsy and no one accepts him... he already knows what it is to feel pain inside your heart. He isn't the demon fox. He is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village. He's Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto felt the pain in his chest twist painfully. _He... cares... what is this feeling?_

**Love. A parent's love. This is what it feels like to know someone loves you no matter what...**

_Love..._

"Well, whatever..." Mizuki pulled the shuriken off his back. Iruka tried to stand up but failed at the pain in his back. "Iruka. I said I would take care of you later... but I changed my mind." He spun the weapon. "Just hurry up and die!" he went to throw it.

Naruto snarled and shot out of the bushes, slashing at Mizuki. The shuriken flew off into the threes and Naruto jumped backwards to stand just in front of Iruka, dropping the camouflage. "You..."

Mizuki growled. "You shouldn't have done that."

Naruto snarled. "Don't... don't you touch my sensei. I'll kill you."

Iruka gasped painfully. "You idiot! Why did you come out! Run!"

Mizuki laughed. "I'll kill someone like you in one shot."

Naruto looked behind him at Iruka. "Whatever you do, **Don't Move**." He turned back to Mizuki and shrieked. His Pack echoed his cry and all leapt out of the bushes.

Now they were fully grown they each had armour on, complete with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the front. It served as protection and made them look even more menacing. They hissed and growled, baring fangs and claws.

Naruto turned his full attention to Mizuki. "Uzumaki style: Raptor Dance." He shot forwards, chakra enhanced speed making him all but a blur. His raptors imitated him. Soon, claws and teeth raked across every inch of Mizuki's skin, tearing at flesh.

Mizuki flailed around and desperately tried to fend off his attackers. It was only moments before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious and bleeding to death.

Naruto barked and his raptors backed off. He walked over to Iruka. "You alright Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded and looked cautiously at the armoured raptors. "What... what are they?"

"They are Uzumaki Clan Summons." He gestured to his pack and they came forward. "This is my Pack. They are summons of the Uzumaki Clan."

Iruka nodded slowly. "You can summon?"

He nodded. "Yup. Learned it years ago. Ah... how old was I, Kurama?"

**Seven.**

"Right, seven."

Iruka frowned. "Kurama?" he paled. "You can... hear..."

Naruto nodded and made a shadow clone which Kurama possessed and transformed into a small (only being about twice the size of a large horse) Indominus Rex, with one tail. "He looks like this, but _way_ bigger and with nine tails. Say hi."

Kurama bowed his head. "**It is an honour to meet you at last, Umino Iruka. I am Kurama, the Kyūbi no Indominus Rex, formerly Kyūbi no Kitsune. I have been wanting to meet you for a while.**"

Iruka paled. "Um... why?" he whispered.

"**You are the only teacher at the academy who was willing to teach Naruto anything. Before you, his teachers deliberately sabotaged his work.**" Iruka's eyes widened. "**You have been one of the few people he looks up to and the only one he honestly calls 'sensei'. The other's hold the title in profession only but you... you earned your title and he genuinely respects you.**"

Naruto nodded. "Yup."

Kurama bowed slightly lower. "**Thank you, for taking care of my host. I can only guide him from inside the seal unless I come out like this and even still, I'm a shadow clone. One hit and I'm done.**" He tilted his head. "**Speaking of hits. Get on. I'll take you back to the village so you can have that rather fatal looking injury looked at.**" He lay on his stomach on the floor, exposing his back to Iruka.

Iruka's eyes widened. "You... what... wait..."

Naruto smirked and picked Iruka up bridal style and carefully jumped up onto Kurama's back. Iroha jumped up after him with Mizuki's arm in her Jaw. She lay the traitor out on Kurama's back and jumped off.

Kurama carefully stood up and set off at a light jog back towards the village. It was a tense fifteen minutes before they broke the tree line and headed through the village. There was a lot of screaming on behalf of the civilians when they saw Kurama and Naruto's Raptor Pack.

They stopped outside the hospital, now with a large group of Shinobi crowded around them. Naruto scooped Iruka up and sat him down against the gate leading into the hospital. He jumped back up and grabbed Mizuki. "We can't let him die, unfortunately. It's kind of hard to interrogate a dead man. Not impossible if you have a Yamanaka, but harder than interrogating a live one."

Iruka nodded. "Right." He carefully pushed himself upright. "Ow."

Naruto turned to his pack. "Alright guys, dispel for now. I'll summon you again if I need you."

Kurama nodded and dispelled. His Pack nodded and Reverse summoned themselves to their home in training ground 44.

Naruto stepped closer to Iruka and let the man lean on him. The Hokage stepped forwards before they could go anywhere. "Naruto."

Naruto smiled up at the man, starting to lead Iruka into the hospital. "Jiji. I caught Mizuki-teme. He admitted to a lot but since Iruka showed up I wasn't able to question him. He did break a few rules, one pertaining to me in particular."

The Hokage frowned. "Did he? You're taking it rather well."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "I've known for years. It's kind of hard not to notice." The assembled Shinobi looked slightly embarrassed. "Now can we save this conversation for later? Iruka-sensei is hurt and Mizuki-teme will bleed to death soon."

Iruka looked at the Hokage. "I'll brief you when I can..." he spoke softly, leaning more weight against Naruto.

The old man nodded and stepped forwards, steadying Iruka and heading into the hospital, Naruto following with Mizuki.

.oOo.

Naruto sat on the chair next to Iruka's bedside. They had just briefed the Hokage on what had happened and Naruto was trying to persuade the Hokage that his seal was fine, he didn't need it altered and he and Kurama had a decent enough relationship.

"Look, he doesn't try to convince me to attack Konoha or anything. The only times he attacked he was under the control of an Uchiha."

Both men frowned. Iruka tilted his head. "What?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. There's a reason Kyūbi disappeared from history for ages. He only showed up during the battle between The First Hokage and Uchiha Madara. He then showed up again when I was born because an Uchiha showed up and attacked us. Kurama can't remember much but he knows that the Uchiha had the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He put Kurama under a genjutsu and forced him to attack the village."

The Hokage frowned. "Naruto... are you sure you can trust him?"

"Yes."

Both men paused at Naruto's straight forward and strong answer. Eventually the Hokage nodded. "Alright. For now, he's got the benefit of the doubt."

.oOo.

Asahi, Iroha, Ueno, Eigo, Osaka, Kawase, Kitte, Kurabu and Keshiki.

M: Ueno, Kawase, Kurabu, Keshiki.

F: Iroha, Eigo, Kitte, Asahi, Osaka.

Iroha/Kawase 6 – M: Katsuyuki, Yatsuhiro. F: Chiaki, Tamafume, Fumiki, Nanami

Eigo/Ueno 5 – M: Okitsuga, Tomonori, Sakutaro. F: Toku, Saya

Asahi/Keshiki 7 – M: Ryuichi, Korekiyo, Shigetoki, Shinsaku. F: Ruriko, Amaya, Anada

Osaka/Kawase 6 – M: Yorikane, Tashiro. F: Mayoko, Tara, Michi, Haruna

Kitte/Kurabu 5 – M: Shintaro, Bokkai. F: Kayoko, Miyako, Haruka

.oOo.

Naruto walked into the training ground with his raptors. He was three hours early for the test but that was his intention. He let out a series of sounds and his pack ran and hid in the bushes. Naruto then carefully went around the entire training ground and set up traps. This was his packs first real trial. They had never been against another person before, at least, one they didn't want to kill.

Two hours later Sakura and Sasuke turned up. Naruto rolled his eyes. "About time." He threw another piece of meat to Osaka. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd turn up at all. Shinobi Rule, When going to a new place at an arrange time, arrive early to scope the place out." He threw a piece of meat to Iroha. "I've already mapped out the training grounds and set up a whole load of traps, keep an eye out for them. Now," he threw a chunk to Kitte, "Kakashi is always two to three hours late for everything. This gives us time to prepare."

Sakura huffed. "Who put you in charge?"

Naruto glared at her. "We are all on equal footing here but I know the most about Kakashi. I provide the information, the three of us come up with a tactic."

Sasuke snorted, eyeing the raptors with interest. "I don't need to work with you two to pass this test."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You need a team to pass a teamwork test, dobe."

Sasuke glared at him. "What did you call me?" he stepped forward only to be faced with nine sets of very sharp teeth pointing right at him.

Naruto smirked. "Sasuke, Sakura, meet my summons. Asahi, Iroha, Ueno, Eigo, Osaka, Kawase, Kitte, Kurabu and Keshiki." He turned to his pack and emitted a sequence of sounds. The pack slowly moved forwards. "Let them smell you. They need to learn your scent. You are new in this pack, they know I accept you but they need to as well."

Sakura practically hid behind Sasuke while the Uchiha stood stock still, looking like he was trying not to piss himself as the nine raptors sniffed at them both. Soon enough they stepped back and Iroha turned to Naruto.

"_I don't like how she smells. It's bad._"

Naruto nodded. "Sakura, you may want to wear a different perfume. That one upsets my summons. Also, it's pretty strong so anyone with a good nose could track you. Kunoichi don't wear perfume."

Sakura snorted. "What do you know?"

Naruto frowned. "A lot actually, I know a load of the Jōnin and Tokubetsu Jōnin." Naruto tilted his head. "I should introduce you to Anko..." he muttered...

Sasuke looked cautiously at the raptors. "How'd you get a summoning contract?"

Naruto smirked. "It belonged to my clan. Like you have the Crow contract somewhere in the Uchiha estate. I take it you haven't signed it yet?"

Sasuke frowned. "No. And I don't plan to. I won't sign _his_ summon contract." He looked the raptors over again. "I want to sign yours. Give it to me."

Naruto frowned. "No. It's an Uzumaki contract. Only those in my clan can sign it." His raptors bristled their head spikes and hissed at Sasuke, sensing their Alpha's distress. "I'd watch myself if I were you Sasuke. You're new to this pack. I'm the Alpha."

Sakura glared. "Who put you in charge?"

The raptors hissed.

Naruto stepped up towards her. "I'm the Alpha. They are my pack. You are my teammates, which makes you Pack. To them, I'm the Alpha, Iroha is my Beta. You two and Kakashi Sensei need to fit into the Pack. Raptors are incredibly dangerous. They need to know I'm in charge or they'll think they can be in charge. If they think they are in charge, they will kill everyone in Konoha. They are vicious, dangerous and without mercy. When they fight, they fight to kill. They don't hold back." He stepped forwards again, now being barely a step away from her. "I'm the Alpha. Don't question me again." He turned his back on her and made a sequence of sounds and his Raptors imitated him before scattering into the bushes.

Naruto turned back around. "Now, this test is a teamwork exercise. The Fourth did it for Kakashi's genin team and Kakashi has done it for every one of his teams and all of them failed. The task is to work together to get the bells. Whether we get one or not is unimportant though we will get extra points if we can. We need to be seen working together. Sakura, you got Kunoichi of the year, what are your skills, because I didn't see any when we were in the academy."

Sakura puffed up but a glance at the bushes calmed her down again. "Well, I scored second highest on the written exam, I can do all three academy jutsu and I did pretty well in the practical exam."

Naruto blinked and waited. "Wait... that's it? You didn't keep things back and only show the basic skills to pass?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Why would I hold back?"

Naruto sighed. "Your academy records are available to anyone who asks. Your official Shinobi records are available to only your Jōnin sensei and the Hokage, unless you have done something to warrant the T&amp;I department needing to look. Any Shinobi worth their headband holds back in the academy and doesn't let anyone know their full skill set until they are officially a genin."

Sasuke sneered. "Then I suppose you have skills you haven't show us?"

Naruto smirked. "Aside from the summoning contract, which I signed at seven I might add, I also know the shadow clone jutsu, an Uzumaki camouflage jutsu which can completely hide me from anyone, five D rank, three C rank and one B rank wind jutsu, three D rank and one C rank Lightning jutsu, two D rank, three C rank and one A rank water jutsu, I am skilled with Kinjustu and I've been training with my mother's sword, and I am the villages foremost expert in Fujinjutsu, traps, infiltration and escapology. I have adequate skills in tracking on my own but when combined with my pack we are unstoppable."

Sasuke blinked and frowned. "No way you can do all that."

Naruto nodded. "I started training when I was five but since I didn't have anyone around to distract me I've been able to train nonstop. Also, with my massive chakra reserves I can train for way longer without getting tired. I don't think I've ever had chakra exhaustion."


	33. Naruto Jurassic Park crossover V2

Story name: Undecided (a different version of the last one)

Genre: ?

Rating: ?

Category: Naruto, Jurassic Park Crossover

* * *

It's a little known secret, but the fourth Hokage was allergic to fur and feathers. He regulated this allergy with medication but even still, he couldn't be around them much.

Unfortunately, that allergy was passed down to his son. The fox knew of this allergy of course, how could he not? He knew everything about his host. At the moment his newborn host was currently in a private room in the Sarutobi estate, being tended to by the best medic in Konoha.

The medic sighed and stood back from the bed. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. There isn't much I can do. It seems poor Naruto inherited his father's allergy to fur. There is little I can do to cure an allergic reaction caused by something sealed inside him."

The Hokage sunk into his chair. "There's nothing you can do?"

The medic shook his head. "No. If Naruto didn't have this allergy, or if the fox were something other than a fox, it wouldn't be a problem."

Kurama's head shot up within the seal. If he were something else? He could do that... he liked this form but if his form would kill his host, and the seal would kill him if his host died, then he could change it. He was made of chakra so he wasn't tied down to one form like mortals were. Besides, no reason he couldn't change it back later if he managed to escape without dying.

Kurama pulled up his chakra and twisted it, changing his form. It would take a good month since he was sealed, otherwise it would only take a week. As long as his host survived that long, he would be fine. Now... since he couldn't be anything with fur he would have to have scales. Fangs and claws were a must. Not anything like a snake, he still held a grudge against Manda for that incident a few hundred years ago.

What about those Uzumaki summons?

Some of them were pretty fierce... in fact...

He smirked.

"**That'll do.**"

.oOo.

Five year old Naruto sat against the back wall of his apartment. He rubbed the bump on the back of his head and winced. The villagers were pretty wild up today. It was his birthday, and the anniversary of when the Fourth Hokage killed the nine-tailed fox.

That meant a large, angry, and most importantly, very drunk mob.

He barely got away. Naruto stood slowly as his head swam and slowly made his way into his bedroom, collapsing on the old, moth eaten bed as soon as he got there. He immediately drifted off to sleep.

.oOo.

_Where am I?_ Naruto thought as he walked down a seemingly endless sewer pipe. He soon came across a huge room with a giant cage at the back. "Woah..."

As he stepped closer there was movement from behind the cage and a giant clawed hand shot out from behind it. It was covered in deep red scales with four long clawed fingers, each with a long, sharp and most importantly deadly looking claw at the end, the index finger being the longest.

Naruto squinted into the gloom of the cage as the arm drew back in. "Woah..."

"**Come closer, little human.**"

"Nope." Naruto said. He looked further into the cage but it was too dark. Naruto sighed slightly, wishing there was better light in here. His eyes widened as the place lit up with unseen lights and he was able to see within the cage.

Naruto blinked in slight confusion at the gigantic beast behind the bars. It had a long snout with a lot of visible teeth. There was a weird shape to its jaw just before the end where the top and bottom jaws curved away from each other. It had sharp spikes leading across the top of its head leading down to the large sail along its back. There were identical spikes along the underside of its jaw, neck and leading along the top of its nine swaying tails. The creature's arms were far too small to allow the creature to walk on them but a bit longer than needed as arms, considering the shape of the body.

Its back feet had long sharp claws that were flat with web in between them, telling Naruto this thing swam like a duck. If it lived underwater it would have gills or fins. This thing looked more like a crocodile than anything else.

Naruto frowned. "What are you?"

The thing growled. "**I am Kurama. The nine tails. Kyūbi.**"

Naruto tilted his head. "I thought you were a fox?"

The massive head swung from side to side slightly. "**I used to be but since you, my idiot host, are allergic to fur, I had to change my form or you would die. And since the seal would have killed me if you died, I had to take measures to prevent that.**"

Naruto blinked. "What do you mean by that? Besides, I thought the fourth Hokage killed you?"

Kurama shook his head. "**No, little one. I cannot be killed. I am made of chakra. Even if my physical body was damaged enough to kill I can simply make a new body, as I had to do when I found out I was killing us both in my other form.**"

Naruto looked the beast over. "You look better like this. It's way cooler."

Kurama stepped back slightly. "**Aren't you afraid of me?**"

Naruto shook his head. "No. If I die, you die, right?"

The thing nodded. "**Indeed.**" It was silent for a moment. "**How did you make it lighter in here? I've been trying for years to make it brighter.**"

Naruto shrugged. "I just wanted it to be brighter and it was."

The thing swung its head slightly. "**Could you... alter the room completely?**"

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

"**A forest, with big, tall trees and a river. One I can paddle in. This form lived on river banks... like crocodiles. You know what those are right?**"

Naruto nodded and focused. Within a few minutes he and the nine tails were soon adding things left right and centre, creating more and more to the mindscape. In the end, Kurama was left to free roam the mindscape with a special collar that had the same patterns on it as the seal. They both sat on top of a hill looking over the forest and Naruto turned to Kurama. "So... what are you?"

Kurama tilted his head. "**I am one of a special species of summon the Uzumaki clan used to have. I believe this one was called 'Spinosaurus' spine lizard.**"

Naruto nodded and the conversation moved onto other things.

.oOo.

Naruto looked up at the fence of training ground 44. _Are you sure?_

**Yes. You'll be fine. You were able to jump a higher wall than this. It's only blocked off because of the creatures in there but none of them will come near you with my chakra.**

_Are you sure? I've only been training for a few months..._

**Yes. Now come on, little one. You'll do fine. Jump.**

Naruto took a deep breath. "Okay..." he crouched down slightly and took off into the air with a chakra enhanced jump. He easily cleared the fence and landed with a roll on the other side.

**Good. Quickly and quietly now. It's not far.**

Naruto nodded and slipped into the forest. Within about twenty feet of the door Kurama called him to stop and he circled a particular tree. He eventually found the hole in the roots and slid in, finding the short tunnel with the sealed door.

**Good. Now, cut your finger a tiny bit and wipe it on that seal in the middle.** Naruto did so and the door opened. **Good. Go on inside.**

Naruto took a deep breath and walked in. His eyes widened. The entrance room was circular with seven doors leading off of it. There was a soft, pale blue carpet with a spiral pattern on the floor with a blood red, spiral patterned rug in the centre. He closed the door he had just come from and noticed it had an image of a gate with the number 12 on it.

**That's because this entrance is near to gate 12. There are several other entrances each marked differently depending on where it is in the forest. There are even a few that lead outside. There used to be a basement level that spread across the whole of the village but it was closed off for some reason.**

Naruto nodded and walked around, looking through each of the doors. Two were bathrooms, four were cupboards, two were long, empty corridors and the final one was a long corridor with doors down it. "Where do those go?"

**This place is huge Naruto. There are 44 other rooms like this one that lead to the other gates. The first corridor on the left and right lead to the gate on either side, gates 11 and 13. There is a dining hall and kitchen every four gates. The corridors are set out like a spider's web. There are 22 corridors that cut lengthways across the training ground. There is a chamber, just like this one, in the middle but way bigger that cuts the corridors in half, each numbered from one to 44 depending on its location with other corridors at four locations down each one leading to the other corridors. There is a dining cavern down a staircase there with a huge kitchen. It could feed the whole village if it needed to. Each of the doors down the even numbered corridors are apartments. Two or three bedrooms, bathroom and a kitchen/dining room. The rooms down the odd numbered corridors are social rooms like libraries, training rooms, classrooms. There are medical facilities at either end of all the corridors.**

**This place was originally designed by the Uzumaki as a safe house in case the village ever got attacked. They ended up putting the blood seal in place at the start because they didn't want to risk enemy ninja mapping it out while they were still building it. Then a load of trouble came up with the Uchiha and it was kept a secret but for the Uzumaki. There haven't been many in the village though...**

Naruto nodded. "This place is cool."

**It's perfect for us. You can stay here and no one will be able to get to you, you are close enough to the village to get to the academy on time but far enough away that you can feel safe from the villagers and the seals on this place mean you can train using my chakra without anyone knowing about it. Once you are good enough to use it that is, if you tried now it would kill us both.**

Naruto nodded. "Kurama, you're the coolest."

Kurama grinned. **Why thank you. Now, let's get you a set of rooms and we can begin training.**

.oOo.

Naruto ran down the tunnels under the Hokage tower. _Stupid receptionist. Stupid villagers. Stupid ANBU._

**Naruto. Stop cursing people and focus. Left.**

The seven year old turned left and sprinted down another tunnel. A few more turns and he hit a dead end.

Literally.

With his face.

It wasn't even a dead end, more of a deep alcove if anything. As he lay on the floor clutching his broken and already healing nose there was a quiet grinding noise and he looked at the section on wall he ran into which was now slowly sliding to reveal a doorway. He blinked and slipped in, pushing a panel just on the inside of the door that immediately started the door closing. Just as it shut he heard some people yelling down the corridor. "The brat went this way!"

Naruto smiled in the total darkness and listened as the men ran past the alcove/dead end/secret passage he had run into. He turned and looked around. _See anything?_

**I see what you see.**

Naruto shrugged and activated a few different jutsu Kurama had taught him. His vision altered first to heat vision, which indicated something further ahead, then to a number of other types. His night vision was little help in total darkness. He spotted a stone on a pedestal next to him and pushed a bit of chakra at it to use echo location. The thing lit up and with it, a number of other stones. Soon the whole room was lit and Naruto made his way forwards, investigating the thing in the middle of the room.

**Those are Raptor eggs...**

_Raptor?_

**One of those summons of the Uzumaki clan. Are they still alive?**

_Let me check._ Naruto switched between his visions and found a barrier seal around the eggs. He looked carefully at the barrier, letting Kurama examine it. _Well?_

**A stasis barrier... the eggs are still in the same state they went in there in. Those eggs will hatch, Naruto.**

_Cool._

**No. Not cool. Those things are dangerous if not trained properly, they will need to see you as the Alpha. They also need to be taught not to kill other people. If you can sign the contract they will listen to you but I have no idea where it could be.**

_It has to be here somewhere. They wouldn't put the eggs here without the contract._ Naruto looked around the room and found a giant scroll in a box at the back of the room with a number of different things in them. He unrolled it and grinned. Kurama directed him on how to sign the contract and Naruto easily did.

**Now for the hard part. You have to summon one.**

Naruto gulped. Kurama directed him on the hand signs and helped him shape his chakra. With the Dino's help Naruto summoned a Raptor first try.

The Raptor looked at him. "So... we finally get summoned." It looked around the room. "So you found us. You are way too young to sign our contract..." the raptor examined Naruto for several moments. "Alright kid, you look like you potential, I'll let you keep the contract scroll but don't summon one of us until you are ready to take our test... give it a few years at least. In the mean time, I'll take those eggs back with me. We do NOT want them hatching here."

The raptor walked over to the eggs and picked them all up before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Well, that went better than I was expecting."

**Indeed. Have a look through what else is in that box, there might be something useful.**

Half an hour later Naruto was climbing out a window of the Hokage tower and off towards Training Ground 44.

.oOo.

Nine year old Naruto swam slowly through the water in a true henge. He had taken the form of an average spinosaurus so he was about 50 feet in length, not as large as the biggest which were 59 but much larger than the smallest which were only 41.

He had also learned a trick that made the spine on his back fold back against his back so he couldn't be seen from the river bank when he was underwater. Naturally any other spinosaurus couldn't so that but with a slight modification to its bone structure when using the henge it was a simple modification.

He settled down to wait at the river's edge. He closed his eyes and waited. Sure enough a few minutes later he felt the water being disturbed just to his right. He leapt out of the water and closed his jaws around the giant tiger that had stopped for a drink. He stepped onto the river bank and drew to his full height and shook his head viciously, easily snapping the tiger's neck. He dropped his catch onto the floor and was about to henge back when he sensed movement within the trees.

Normally anything else in the vicinity runs away when he pops out of the water like that. A pair of kunoichi jumped out of the bushes and landed a few yards away from him on the river surface. A ninken landed behind them. Naruto recognised Kiba's mom, Tsume, and Kuromaru, as he had met them both before.

The other woman he didn't recognise.

The woman hissed slightly. "Damn, what is that thing."

Naruto unfurled the spine on his back and hissed back slightly, taking a step back.

Tsume shook he head slightly. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before. It's definitely what we're after though. That thing has been killing at least one tiger a day for weeks and the numbers of the other animals in here have been dropping. Do you think it's one of _his_ experiments?"

The woman growled. "If it is, I'll kill it."

Kuromaru shook his head. "No. It doesn't smell artificial like the other experiments. It smells natural. Whatever it is, it's supposed to be like that."

Naruto made a hissing growl and stepped back again, one foot just sinking into the river. Naruto lunged down and grabbed the tiger before turning and running off into the forest. He heard the three giving chase. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before using the shunshin to appear at a gate on the other end of the training ground. The dropped the tiger as well as the henge and quickly pulled out a scroll, sealing the tiger inside before quickly opening the sealed door and slipping into the underground complex.


	34. harry potter the game cross over

Story name: something with the word Gamer in it, like... Wizard Gamer or something... i don't know...

Genre: Family/?

Rating: K+(if i make it very mild) T(if it's a bit more explicit) M(if it details a lot of abuse or something)

Category: Harry Potter, The Gamer (crossover or inspired?)

* * *

I've read a lot of stories that have been wither crossed over with, or inspired by 'The Gamer'. The Harry Potter ones just recently. While the ones where Harry dies and is reincarnated with the power are good, the ones where it was something Lily and James did are alright, and the one where Harry randomly wakes up with the power without any real reason is well written but unfortunately provides no logic for the power developing, all the authors seemed to have missed out on something obvious.

There is already a 'Gamer' on cannon.

What would happen if one day _Dudley_ woke up to find his life had been turned into a video game?

Of course at first he'd blame 'the freak' but after a while he'd like it. Until he realises that while his strength is high, his wisdom and inelegance are virtually 1 and his vitality has a 'borderline morbidly obese -90% vitality' buff. He'd also see things like Harry's HP going down if Vernon is physically abusive in the story (which would help tie the cousins together better) and status buffs like 'Starved -10% vitality -20% strength' and titles such as 'Dursley's slave' or something.

What would happen if Dudley had always had magic but had subconsciously suppressed it due to seeing how Harry was treated, until it burst out when he was eight, manifesting like this? If he and Harry both had the title 'Wizard' and Petunia and Vernon both had the title 'Squib'. (my logic being that muggle-borns are actually the child of two squibs who didn't know they were squibs, probably descended from at least three generations of squibs marrying Muggles, the fresh magical blood awakening the magical core) (I explain Petunia and Lily as being Half-sisters, which would give Petunia another reason to hate Lily, her father and step mother appear to love Lily more than her and how dare her father remarry after her mother died?)

If Dudley was affected by the things he saw he would try to get closer to Harry. How would the two of them working together affect everything? With both of them going to Hogwarts together, Dudley acting as Harry's 'big-brother/cousin/bodyguard' what would change about Harry's relationships with his friends? How will Dudley getting on with Harry affect Dudley's relationship with his parents?

And what will they think of their son being a wizard?

Probability of them moving out and leaving the two boys alone in the house? Pretty high.

It would help Harry and Dudley gain skill levels in house hold abilities.

Status!

Name: A characters real name. If they are using an alias a ? will appear on either side of their name, e.g. ?Steve?  
Title: characters can have more than one, only two will be commonly used. Some groups may have a specific title for someone or someone may have a !Legendary title!, e.g. !Dark Lord! Or !Defeater of Grindelwald! Legendary titles do not count towards total Title number. Some titles are 'Equipable'. This means that they can be changed at any time with no consequences.  
Level: a numerical value to determine a person's overall stats and experience, can be misleading, some characters have stats far above or far below their level.  
Exp: How much experience you have in %. Next lvl: How much Exp you need to level up in numbers. You can only see these two on yourself and party members less than 10 levels above or below yours.  
Moral compass: a person's moral alignment. Further descriptions below.  
Occupation: a person's job. If someone holds more than one position, all are listed.  
Description: a basic summery of their personality. Susceptible to change, as personality does. E.g. a bully who no longer bullies people would lose that part of their description but would retain 'Bully' as an equipable title.

Stats  
HP: Health Points. No explanation needed. When it reaches Zero, you die. Cannot add stat points directly.  
SP: Stamina Points. Go and keep going. Stamina affects how long you can go before getting tired. Cannot add Skill Points directly.  
MP: Mana points. Only available for magical beings. The more Mana you have, the more spells you can cast, as well as being able to cast more difficult ones. Cannot add Skill Points directly. Gain 2MP for every 1SP  
Str: Strength. Physical. Passive/Active. Strength defines how much weight you can lift and how hard you can hit. It gains skill exp points every time you lift something above 'light' for your strength stat. Active skill point gaining includes weight training. The heavier something is, the more skill exp is earned.  
Def: Defence. Physical. Passive/Active. Defence defines how tough you are. The higher your defence the less damage you take each hit. Can be trained through actions like boxing, martial arts or other painful physical contact.  
End: Endurance. Mental. Passive. Endurance affects how many hits you can take and how long you can keep going. Each level adds one point to stamina. Each ten points adds an extra 5. High endurance increases 'pain threshold' skill and balanced Endurance and Defence increases exp gain in defence or endurance related skills. Can be trained by running or stamina training.  
Vit: Vitality. Physical. Passive. Vitality contributes to health and life. The higher your vitality, the healthier you are and the longer your life expectancy. Each point adds 5 HP. Each 50 points adds an additional 10% current max HP. Can be trained with cardiovascular training.  
Luk: Luck. Mental. Passive. Chances of finding good loot increases. Chances of receiving negative mood/health buffs decreases. Chance of action failure decreases. At high levels of luck you can have a chance to gain bonus experience. Cannot be trained.  
Acc: Accuracy. Mental. Active. Chances of ranges weapons hitting their mark increases with this stat. Can be trained with any kind of ranged activity.  
Crit: Critical hit Ratio. Mental. Passive. The chances of landing a critical hit. Percent chance goes up as more points added. Percentage increase decreases the higher the stat number so more points are needed to increase at higher levels. Every 20 points adds 20% to damage dealt by critical hits. Cannot be trained.

Skills:  
Major Skills:  
Observe: the ability to take in what is around you. The higher this skill the more information is given about the target. Note! Some enemies may be hiding information that Observe cannot find, no matter how high its level.  
Pause: A Passive skill owned by all Gamers. Pause the game at any time. Note! Moving cancels it so you can't use it to save time moving from one place to another. opening a menu or your inventory automatically pauses, unless consciously _not_ doing so.  
Gamers' mind: The ability to calmly accept situations you would normally be freaking out about. Grants immunity to mental status affects and passive Legilimency. Any Gamer information is hidden from even the strongest of Legilimens.  
Gamers Body: something that would kill a normal human won't kill you. Hits that would normally break bones simply deplete your HP. Pain vanishes after a short time.  
Other Skills:  
Cooking:  
Muggle Recipes: recipes from the muggle world  
Magical Recipes: recipes requiring magical foods, like chocolate frogs.  
Gourmet Muggle Recipes: High class muggle recipes  
Gourmet Magical Recipes: high class magical recipes  
Experimental Cooking: make your own recipes!  
Muggle Deserts: because this needs its own category!  
Magical Deserts: Ditto!  
Muggle Confectionary: sweets galore!  
Magical Confectionary: are you sure you want to try that?  
Washing dishes: don't break them...  
Laundry: cotton, silk, nylon, denim, pollycotton, wool. No fabric shall remain dirty!  
Gardening: any skill in the garden. Watering, weeding, pruning, potting, re-potting, compost, fertilizer, insecticide, ect.  
Cuttings: So you can make core of that plant.  
Cross breeding: New plants!  
General Cleaning: anything else that needs doing? Dusting, mopping, polishing the wood, shampoo the fabrics, clean the windows, vacuuming ect.  
Driving: Cars, homemade race cars, bumper cars, dodgems, bicycle, unicycle, you know... anything with wheels that you can steer will get you points in this skill.  
Sewing: how to put needle and thread to make or repair clothes and sew name labels into clothing.  
Embroidery: because those finishing touches mean the most to that special someone!  
Knitting: nothing is better than a woollen scarf.  
Start from Scratch: Make a full item of clothing with just raw fabric.  
Sports: there are too many to list, so as each one is played a subcategory appears.  
Art: each aspect of art creates a subcategory, if you should choose to gain skill points in this. Doodling on your homework can help increase this skill. Note! Paining fences is not affected by this skill!  
Music: Any instrument learned creates a subcategory. Singing counts. Reading sheet music can increase skill, listening to music doesn't.  
Handiness: Who needs a guy? Do you own work!  
Plumbing:  
Electricals:  
Carpentry: make your own bookcases, shoe racks, shelves and cabinets or even wooden sculptures! Anything using wood increases this skill.  
Blacksmith: any kind of metalwork counts towards this skill.  
Writing: With a pen, pencil, quill or even chalk or a stick in the sand, any kind of mark-making in recognisable words will increase this skill. Higher skill level improves handwriting, spelling and grammar and grants abilities such as;  
Apology letter  
Formal invitation/acceptance  
Formal letter  
Forged signature: no more going to parents or guardians. You can now forge peoples signatures. The higher the skill, the more likely people will believe you!  
Essay: This skill improves essay writing skills. A good essay is like a girl's skirt, long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.  
Speech: Each language has its own subsection and levelling it up helps to improve your spoken grammar, pronunciation, enunciation and vocabulary. Starting level for this skill depends on language abilities when starting the game. Magical languages are harder to level up.  
Flirting:  
Public speaking:  
Lying: a good lie can just roll of the tongue, and everyone will believe you, if you can max out this skill.  
Persuasion: persuade others to your point of view. Make them do whatever you want.  
Reading out loud: this is a skill almost in its own category. Not many people can do it without stuttering or stumbling, to do it well is impressive.  
other skills will be added as the player progresses and uncovers more, these are just the ones I can think of at the moment.

.

Moral Alignments.  
Good- Good characters work for the betterment of others  
Very Good: Very good characters work towards a public goal of Good. They listen to the people and work to achieve a goal everyone wants, but will not accept Neutral as the final answer. They seek to keep Evil at a minimum while promoting Good and righteousness. Very good characters are widely accepting of others but won't stand for evil.  
Neutral Good: Neutral good characters are the types who are willing to help anyone out, regardless of their alignment. They are typically healers or peace keepers. They look for a neutral peace, father than one made by either good or evil. They believe that everything is all about balance, that something evil could be used for good, just as something good could be used for evil. Good and Evil are just objective standards.  
Objectively Good: They are willing to do anything for what they see as right. For The Greater Good. They call themselves light but many of their actions, while working towards a final goal of peace and Good, may in themselves be questionable or even illegal. They work for their own version of good, rather than one society asks for and will not stand for anyone doing anything 'evil'.

Peaceful: They prefer to stay out of any kind of conflict, instead allowing others to make the decisions. They will keep strong ties to people but refuse to get into a conflict, even if one of the people in the conflict is their closest companions. They are the type to follow the establishment without question. They differ from Neutral Good characters as Neutral good ones will become involved in conflict to create peace, Peaceful characters stay out completely.

Evil- Evil characters work for themselves  
Very Evil: These characters live for the suffering of others. They care little about others or any particular goal, they simply wish to spread as much pain and suffering as possible. They can hold a grudge indefinitely. They rule others with fear or manipulate from the shadows, either way, they're not someone you want to be too close to.  
Neutral Evil: Cold. Heartless. These are the people who travel alone and sell out their skills to the highest bidder. Mercenaries who would turn on their first employer if their enemy offers more money. They hold no allegiance to anyone but themselves and don't care for the lives of those around them. Get in their way and they'll kill you. It's nothing personal, it's just business.  
Necessary Evil: These are the characters who know that sometimes an unpleasant task needs to be done. They do not enjoy doing what they do but it has to be done. Sometimes someone can't be taken down legally but can't remain around for the good of the people. It's a thankless task, but someone's got to do it.

Lawful- Lawful characters desire order  
Very Lawful: These characters are usually the ones involved in Law enforcement. They make sure the laws are followed and enforce the rules whenever possible. They don't care if the laws they enforce are there for the good of the people or to keep them oppressed. As long as the Law is being followed they don't care.  
Neutral Lawful: These characters will follow and enforce the laws, but know that sometimes the law needs to be ignored to do the right thing. They are able to look the other way if they need to or break a few laws to bring a criminal in. They have a strong moral code and do not allow rules that suppress free will and choice in individuals.  
Lawfully Evil: These are the characters who believe the rules are there to be exploited. Their actions are considered barely legal.

Criminal- Criminal Characters desire chaos  
Hard-core Criminal: These are the worst of the worst or criminals. They commit the worst crimes and often very publicly. They are the types that spark fear into those who see them, the ones who commit the worst of crimes possible. Only the bravest officers go after these types.  
Criminal: A criminal is someone who doesn't care for the law, but won't go out of their way to break it. They live off the dirty dealings and the underworld. This group consists of large gangs or mafias. They have no qualms breaking a few laws to get what they want and often plan large scale criminal acts.  
Petty Criminal: A petty criminal is the type who only commits petty crimes. They frequently get warnings or perhaps fines (If they get caught) but never do anything to warrant jail time. They sometimes gather in small groups but never more than a handful or else they would have to turn to larger crimes.  
Reluctant Criminal: Sometimes, someone has no choice but to break the law. Blackmail, threats, poverty, sometimes a life of crime is even a better option to their life before. They try not to break many laws, just enough to get by. Occasionally this alignment may refer to someone who is being forced into the ranks of a major criminal and has no choice in which laws they break. A reluctant criminal always feels bad for what they've done and anyone they've hurt.  
Juvenile Delinquent: A juvenile delinquent is a child who is constantly breaking the rules. They don't care for rules or authority and are often in trouble for their actions. Being children, no real consequences come from their actions until later, in their late teens. Once they become an adult their Moral Alignment changes.


	35. Harry Resorted

Story name: undecided

Genre: Family(severitus)/Friendship

Rating: T

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

Harry trudged up to the common room after having hidden on the third floor. It was almost curfew and the teachers would kill him if they found him out this late. Especially with all those attacks. Not that it mattered. Everyone but Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Neville thought he did it. Dean and Seamus hadn't said anything either way but still...

He sighed and said the password, the Fat Lady giving him a sad look as she opened. The common room went silent as he slid in, everyone turned to look at him. He had just taken a step forward to go straight up to his dorm when the seventh year boys all blocked his way.

"Hey Potter. Get out of here. We don't want any evil, slimy snakes like you in here."

Harry took a step back. "W-what? I'm not-"

"He's right. We took a house vote and everyone agrees. You're not welcome here. Get out."

"Piss off Slytherin."

"Slimy snake!"

"Freak!"

Harry looked around but was unable to see any of his friends through the crowd that had now gathered. Almost everyone in the tower was shouting out now, calling and shouting for him to leave. He looked over at the Head-Boy only to get a fist to the face. He staggered backwards and backed into another of the seventh years who shoved him forward. What followed was almost a half hour of the worst beating he'd ever had.

When he came too he was lying in a hallway in the dungeons. He tried to push himself to his feet but found he was unable to move either of his legs and one of his arms. He could feel several broken ribs and every part of him ached. He could feel how cold and wet the floor was, and by the smell it wasn't one of the more used parts of the castle.

Harry sobbed quietly and reached out, dragging himself across the floor with one hand. He didn't know how long he was pulling for before he finally saw a staircase. He slowly, and painfully pulled himself up, noting five broken and nine fractured ribs as he did so. Finally he was somewhere he recognised, he pulled himself into the middle of the entrance hall and looked around, he had come from a passage hidden by some shadows and a suit of armour.

He lay on his back breathing heavily, feeling his breath coming in shorter and shallower gasps. He could barely breathe and if that metallic taste was any indication, his lungs were filling with blood.

'_If I survive this. I want to get resorted.'_

There was the sound of something heavy moving off to one side. Harry turned his head, squinting through his broken glasses (They'd at least had the decency to leave them on his face), his vision failing. "He...p..." he broke off in coughs. Blood and spittle flowing freely from his mouth. He flopped back onto the floor and closed his eyes.

.oOo.

Harry gasped and struggled to sit up, his lungs still full, he couldn't breathe he needed to breathe he was gonna die and-

Someone said something and he felt like he was throwing up with his chest. Blood and... something else... flowed out into a bucket.

He was pushed onto his back and two voices, one male and one female sounded from above him. He was too tired to make out what they were saying.

He blacked out again.

He must have because when he opened his eyes the room was dark and he wasn't in nearly as much pain as before. He looked to either side and realised two things. First, he was in the infirmary. Second, Professor Snape was sitting... no sleeping, in the chair beside his bed.

"Fessor?" he croaked.

Snape shot up, fully awake. He blinked for a second. "Mr Potter." He leant forwards. "How are you feeling?"

"Trd... hrts..."

"Hurts?" Harry nodded. "Where?"

"Evrywr..."

"Everywhere?" Snape picked up something from the end of Harry's bed. Before casting a quick _tempus_. "Ah, good. You can have another pain potion." Snape walked off and came back with a tiny bottle. "We are giving you an extra strength one. You were very badly wounded."

Harry nodded and drank the potion, passing back out again.

When he next woke, his curtains were pulled shut and seemed to block out a lot of light, though he could see the ceiling and floor on the other side brightly lit.

"Mister Potter will not be receiving visitors, Headmaster. He is much too injured and you know as well as I do as to why. That boy will not be returning to the Gryffindor common room."

Harry smiled slightly towards Madam Pomfrey's general direction.

"Nonsense, Poppy. You know how kids are. I'm sure they were just exaggerating, pointing the finger for someone to blame."

"Albus, he was savagely beaten and the portraits confirm it. They stunned, bound and silenced his friends and beat him up, dumping him in an unused part of the dungeons and left him to die."

Harry frowned. So that was why his friends didn't speak up...

"Poppy. He is a Gryffindor. He has to go back to Gryffindor tower."

"What if I don't what to be a Gryffindor anymore?"

The room silenced. His curtain opened and he saw Madam Pomfrey, the Headmaster and professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick standing there.

The headmaster shook his head. "My boy, you are a Gryffindor and that is where you have to stay. You can't just go into another house."

Flitwick shook his head. "Not exactly, Albus. You know if he formally requests a sorting, the four Heads of House, the Headmaster and the Sorting Hat agree, then he can be resorted. It hasn't been done in a very long time since the sorting hat rarely agrees, but it can be done." He turned to Harry. "Do you think it will agree, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, of course. Considering it didn't want to put me in Gryffindor in the first place." He smirked slightly at the gobsmacked expressions on everyone's faces. "Hm... 'Not Slytherin eh? Are you sure? You could be great you know, and Slytherin would help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that. No? Well then, if you're sure. Better be, Gryffindor.'"

Snape rocked backwards slightly. "Slytherin... the sorting hat wanted you in Slytherin?"

Harry nodded. "I told it not to since Ron and Hagrid both told me that Slytherin was evil and all of Voldemort's followers had been in Slytherin. And I'd met Malfoy twice and the first time he made me feel like a complete idiot, not knowing over half of what he said, and the second time he insulted the first friend I'd ever had, so I didn't want to spend seven years living with him."

Poppy hummed. "I can see why. Well then, if the four heads are in agreement?"

McGonagall nodded. "Aye."

Flitwick nodded. "Aye."

Sprout nodded. "Aye."

Snape nodded. "Aye."

The Headmaster shook his head. "Nay. Mister Potter is fine in Gryffindor. This kind of thing won't happen again."

Harry shook his head. "The school turned on me last year after Hermione, Neville and I lost a hundred and fifty points in one night for being out after curfew. They turned on me again this year because they think I'm the heir of Slytherin. I don't want to see what they do next year. I can't go through that again. I can't keep taking these beatings."

Snape looked sharply at him. "What? This has happened before?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. All the time. Every time I lose points or get a detention they turn on me. It's not so bad sometimes but if I lose a lot they hurt me. This was the worst one."

McGonagall frowned. "Why didn't you report it?"

Harry shrugged. "Why should I? I lost points, it was my own fault. Besides, you wouldn't believe me. You'd just think I was lying, like last year when I told you about the stone. If that was three of us telling you about a real issue, you would never believe me over something little like this. It's just a few beatings. I can take it."


	36. Harry attacked by basilisk

Story name: undecided

Genre: undecided

Rating: undecided

Category: Harry Potter

* * *

So basically, Gryffindor thinks Harry is the heir of Slytherin, kick him out of Gryffindor tower, he's wondering the halls and the basilisk comes along and either kills him or petrifies him.

If petrified, Ginny breaks down and confesses to McGonagall and hands over The Diary. Everyone is told the truth about what happens because she breaks down either in the Gryffindor common room or the great hall.

If he died, stays as a ghost and hovers on the floor next to his body as if he'd crouching. Snape finds him and huge emotional scene where he admits to having promised his mother to protect him, admitting that while he does dislike him, he doesn't hate him like he pretends to. He doesn't like him, but he doesn't hate him. Harry tells him how he died and Snape vows to find out where the giant snake came from and how to kill it.

Harry makes a quick stop at the Dursleys' to haunt them for a while before going back to Hogwarts. Ginny breaks down once news is told and hands over The Diary.

Snape verbally lays into her, blaming her stupidity for Harry dying and 'how could she trust a dark artefact like that?' and 'Didn't her father tell her to never trust something like that!' and 'she should have gone to a teacher after the first attack! It's not normal to lose hours of memory like that.'

Harry spends most of his time in Snape's rooms but also visits Mertel a lot and at the end of the year finds a first year Slytherin who was afraid to go home and finds out he's abused, tells Snape and Snape gets him out of his home and into a better one.

No Horcrux, obviously.


	37. sev harry time travel story

Story name: undecided

Genre: depends on how the story goes, Family/Friendship Family/Romance

Rating: T/M?

Category: Harry Potter, Marauder's era

* * *

Severus walked into the room and waved his hand, letting the wards identify him before opening the door to the cellar that appeared and dropped down. "Harry? I'm back."

Harry looked up from where he was bent over some documents. "Welcome back. Everything okay?"

Sev nodded. "Yeah. They still don't even think of looking for me in a dress."

Harry smiled and bent back over the papers. "Did you get everything we need?"

"Yes. So now what?"

"We need a game plan. We have the spell to send us back, but we need a plan of action for when we do."

Severus nodded and walked over. "By the time you are born it will be too late to make enough changes in time. We need to go further. When I was a young child was good. He was still recruiting back then and using the rising tensions between Muggleborns and purebloods to recruit."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. And as a child you can suggest things to adults and manipulate people into doing what we want without people suspecting anything...if the spell doesn't kill me..."

Severus gently gripped his shoulders. "You'll be fine Harry."

Harry sighed slightly and nodded. "Right... anyway... game plan."

Severus nodded. "Do you remember that Muggle village we tried to go to once? What was it called... a 'Gated Community.' What if we created one for Muggleborns? We could bring in Muggle parents with Magical children. Their children would grow up knowing about magic with other children who can do magic, the parents wouldn't have to hide it and they would be able to talk to anyone else in the village about anything since everyone would either be a Muggleborn or a parent of one."

Harry stood upright. "You know... that's a brilliant idea... and as a gated community they would need someone from every profession, things like dentists, doctors, shops, restaurants, cafes and schools! If we teach Muggleborns about the magical world earlier and teach them basic spells, wand movements, things like that, the teachers would be able to advance the curriculum faster and hopefully get up to international standards."

Severus nodded thinking of all the trouble he'd had to go through to get his Mastery and any amount of respect internationally. "Britain is really behind."

Harry nodded indicating to Slytherin's journals on the bookcase. "Salazar was right that Muggleborn students needed a better education before coming to school. Only problem was that when they got that education in the Muggle world the curriculum never caught up."

Severus nodded. "Indeed."

Salazar Slytherin had wanted to use part of the castle as living quarters for Muggleborns not yet of Hogwarts age and hire tutors to teach them things like reading and writing so when they started Hogwarts they were capable of keeping up with their pureblood year mates, who already knew how to do those, among other things. The other founders thought it a waste of time.

Harry stretched a kink out of his back. "So, we build a gated community and get all the Muggleborns and their families to move there. How?"

Severus thought for a moment. "If we buy all the houses and then sell them to the Muggleborns' parents, we could buy their house and move a Muggle family from inside the community out. We could use Cokeworth. My old hometown. Barely anyone lived there and those that did would jump at the chance to get out after the factory went bust."

Harry nodded. "If we bought the whole town, it would be self sustaining, we'd have people for everything. We would need to buy food for the stores since there isn't any farm land, unless we build greenhouses with expansion charms."

Severus nodded. "We could make a small back garden into a five acre field."

Harry nodded. A glance at the calendar had him nearly jumping. "Brainstorm! What if we built up some apartment complexes and moved some werewolves into them? We could make an area behind each one that was expanded so they would have somewhere to run around during the full moon. We could even have wild game in them!"

Severus nodded slowly. "That's a good idea. And they'd be living in more luxury that they would be otherwise. The Muggles wouldn't have a problem working with them so they'd be able to get jobs easily enough. it would just be a matter of arranging people's shifts so the werewolves worked more during the middle of the lunar cycle while the humans worked more closer to the full moon."

Harry nodded. "We could even have one as a magic teacher since we don't want to focus only on magic in classes, if any of the Muggleborns have Muggle siblings they'd feel left out and might end up like Petunia."

Severus nodded. "If we bulldoze the middle of the town we could build things like a shopping district, a hospital, some proper schools and things like that. At the moment there is a tiny doctors surgery and a couple of schools but none of them are of a high standard and they're all rather depressing."

Harry nodded, having seen the town himself. "The houses would all have to be fixed up anyway too. This is good. With Muggleborns being educated in the magical world better they would be less hated by pureblood society. Things could start changing. Oh! What if, every time we find new Muggleborns we take them to Gringotts for a heritage test and to open an account, we could even ask Gringotts if they wanted to open a branch in Cokeworth."

Severus nodded. "That's a good idea. It would mean any Muggleborns that are descended from old pureblood lines thought to have been wiped out would be able to claim a lot of the gold kept in vaults in the bank. Most of their vaults are untouched for generations because of long lines of squibs."

Harry nodded. "Yeah... Hermione brewed a heritage potion once. She was descended from a pure blood line."

Severus nodded. That had been the only thing that had saved her. Just as she was about to be killed she pulled that card out. They tested her and found she was telling the truth. She now lived as a Mistress to Draco Malfoy, who was 'helping her purify her line'. She would have been better off dead.

Harry shook his head. "What about in the ministry? How do we fix things there?"

Severus shook his head and sat down, thinking. "We should start with the Aurors..."

Harry nodded. "What if... Muggles have a local police. They don't usually face big threats, they deal with theft, vandalism, teens loitering and scaring old ladies, that kind of thing." Severus chuckled. Harry smirked at him. "If we talk to the DMLE and see if they could train those who drop out of Auror Academy to be Local Police instead of Aurors who are more like the Army really..."

Severus nodded. "That's a good idea. If we had local officers in Hogsmead it would save the teachers from Chaperoning. We'd only need one or two instead of most of the staff having to go and it would mean those who want to be Aurors but don't have the stomach for hunting Dark Wizards would be able to still work in Law Enforcement."

Harry nodded. "They could have several different sections. One for the Local officers, some as bodyguards so the Auror force isn't being depleted every time there's an event of some kind, some as Hunters, who chase down wanted criminals, they could have Crime Scene Analysers, Local Officers, they could even train Bouncers so if there's an event somewhere the bouncers can work the door while the other security works other places."

Severus nodded. "That's a good idea. Muggle Police have so many branches but the Aurors are forced to deal with everything. If they are in separate departments then each can play to their strengths... we could even have a section that deals with crimes involving children."

Harry nodded. "I'm not sure how that will take. You know what the Purebloods' stance on kids is."

Severus nodded. Children were sacred and worshiped. Most purebloods had trouble conceiving so any child was seen as a blessing. They could not understand anyone wanting to harm a child. "So, we make a community to introduce Muggleborns to the magical world and improve relations between Muggleborns and purebloods, split up the Auror Department to improve Law Enforcement, what else?"

They both sat and thought for ages, tossing ideas back and forth. It was several hours later they packed everything up, destroyed what they weren't taking with them and prepared the ritual circles. Harry stood next to the first one. "So, I send you back first. You end up as a child in your old body."

Severus nodded. "Yes. You'll be right behind me right?"

Harry nodded and smiled. "Of course. Hold your breath." He began the ritual. Several different languages flowed from his tongue, causing different parts of the circle to glow before finally it was completely lit and magic began to swirl around. Within moments Severus was hidden behind a wall of magic and Harry finished the incantation.

He smirked. It was suppose to take several repetitions before he'd built up enough power but the book did say that the more powerful you were, the quicker you could cast it.

He looked at his own circle and took a deep breath before stepping onto it. This was the tricky part. Harry recited a different incantation and several different chants before he felt the magic throw him back. His whole body went numb and he winced as he felt himself de-aging, despite the numbness, it hurt. Despite what Severus thought, he wasn't sending them both back to the same time.

When Harry finally regained consciousness it was to look up into the destroyed roof of his nursery. He took a deep breath and slowly recited the incantation again. It took a while and he tensed every time there was a sound. He couldn't hurry or he'd risk mispronouncing something. Thankfully his magic assisted him with his pronunciation since he'd already used the spell once before. He felt the world swirl out of focus and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was on the doorstep of a house. He didn't recognise it. He cried out, seeing a light on upstairs, just as the door opened and a flustered woman stepped out, narrowly missing him.

.oOo.

Lea sighed, pulling her coat on. "I'll get some milk. The corner shop should still be open."

Rose sighed, rocking a screaming Lilly. "Please hurry."

Harold nodded, an equally distressed Petunia in his arms. "If we don't get them down soon they'll be ratty and miserable tomorrow and it'll take a few days to get them sleeping normally again."

Lea nodded and grabbed her keys opening the door. A new voice joined the chorus of babies and Lea looked up and down the street before scooping the child up and coming inside. He instantly quieted, looking up at her in fascination.

"A baby..." Lea looked up at her partners and settled on the sofa next to them. Lily, being curious quieted slightly so she could examine this new baby. The boy tilted his head and looked at Lily, clutching his stuffed dog tighter to his chest.

The Boy sat up in Lea's arms and turned slightly to look at Petunia, who was still screaming. He looked her over and leaned over, blowing at her face.

Petunia froze, instantly stopping crying. Harry grinned at her and giggled. That was a technique Molly told him about. Sometimes a child got themself so worked up they forgot why they were crying. A sharp puff of air to the face shocked them into stopping crying, you could then distract them with something and they'd stop crying completely.

Harold adjusted her in his arms and stroked her back softly, gently patting her with his other arm. Lily, seeing her sister calm again stopped crying and snuggled into Rose's arms, thumb in mouth, ready for sleep.

Lea blew a breath out slowly. "Well then. If all we needed to do was that I'd have done it hours ago. Now, what to do with you, little one?" She noticed the toy dog had a soft collar on with a plastic name tag. She lifted it slightly. One side read 'Padfoot' while the other side read 'Property of Harry Potter 31.7'. She hummed. "Harry... it suits you."

Rose nodded. "I have always wanted a boy..." she looked up at Harold.

He sighed. "I'll talk to the police and social services in the morning. I don't see it being a problem. His parent's don't want him, we have the space, he'd be better off with us than in the social services. They already have so many children to look after. Yes, they shouldn't have a problem with it." He smiled and the women smiled back. He looked down at Petunia who was now asleep and carefully stood up. Rose followed with Lily and they went upstairs to put the girls to bed.

Lea stood up with Harry. "Let's get you cleaned up and see about getting something into that belly shall we?" she walked into the kitchen and sat Harry in one of the two highchairs there. She pulled a draw open and pulled out a cloth, turning on the tap and waiting for it to warm up. She opened the fridge and rummaged around for a moment. "Hmmm... ah, chicken soup. Perfect." She brought the plastic pot out of the fridge and pulled a pot off the draining board, pouring the soup into it. "Let's get something into that belly, shall we?" she tested the water from the tap and soaked the cloth. "But, let's get that blood and dirt off you first."

.oOo.

Harry sat very still as the woman wiped his face off. He was kind of confused. The man was of course his Grandfather Harold, the red haired woman was obviously his grandmother, Rose. But who was this Blond woman? Maybe an Aunt? She did look a lot like Petunia though... and Petunia didn't look like Lily at all... could... he looked around the room when the woman stepped away to heat the soup. There were pictures on the wall but he couldn't make them out in this lighting. There was light coming in through the door but the kitchen light was off.

Soon enough the soup was heated and the woman sat down to feed him. Harold and Rose came back in and she smiled at them, kissing them both as they came to sit with them.

Yup... triad.

Why did he never know about this?

.oOo.

Lea carefully fed their new son the soup and smiled at how easy he was. No sticking his fingers in his mouth like Lily used to or not bothering to move at all like Petunia did. He sat up nicely and opened his mouth for each spoonful, eating them easily. He must only be around fifteen months old, a little younger than the girls. Thankfully it was so easy to age babies. Plus the nametag on the toy suggested his birthday was the Thirty First of July, which would make him about fifteen months old now.

"What do you think happened, Lea?" Harold asked, crossing his arms over the table and looking at the slightly bleeding cut Harry's head.

Lea shook her head. "I don't know... there's a nasty bruise around it but he doesn't seem bothered by it..." indeed, he was so focused on the food he seemed to be ignoring them. "He doesn't seem like he's been starved or mistreated or anything... he's got a few bruises but they all look fresh, like something's happened."

Rose nodded. "He doesn't seem bothered by us at all. If he was mistreated, wouldn't he be afraid of us?"

Harold nodded. "Would make sense... I wonder if he knows he's been abandoned?"

.oOo.

Harry looked right at Harold and nodded before turning back to the spoon. The soup was almost gone and his belly was pleasantly full for the first time in about nine years. He half tuned out the adult's conversation and sat patiently as Lea washed his face again and picked him up. They silently carried him upstairs and into a room. It was somewhat bare but there were paint cans against the wall near the window so Harry assumed it was being redecorated. They placed him on the bed and pulled up a set of bars.

"You be careful not to fall out, alright Harry?"

Harry yawned and cuddled Padfoot before simply lying down and snuggling up as only a small child can and drifting off to sleep. He was going to enjoy this new life before he had to start worrying about the war. It was a long way off.

He sat bolt upright as an explosion rent the air. _What was that?_ He stood up on shaky legs and held onto the bars of the bed. He could hear Lily and Petunia crying next door and another door opened, footsteps and his door opened allowing Harold into the room. He paused slightly, looking Harry right in the eye before coming over and picking him up. "Well, you seem calm." He joked, slightly unnerved.

Harry buried his face in the man's shoulder. He was supposed to be fifteen months old. He was supposed to cry at loud, unexpected noises. When he looked up again they were in the sitting room and Lea and Rose were holding Lily and Petunia, who were crying.

.oOo.

An: so, the explosion a gas leak at the local supermarket, Lea was supposed to die in it but harry's arrival prevented that. either Eileen ends up a single mother and Harry and Severus end up together, or Eileen ends up involved with Harold, Lea and Rose, making them siblings.

Admittedly, the second would be better since Eileen could then introduce her new parters to her parents, her mother stands up to her father and lets them all move into Prince manor, Harry and Sev have access to the Princes to suggest all the things they'd thought up and have the prince fortune to get started with it.

If Eileen ends up a single mother she's unlikely to go back to her parents but it would be possible, it would just mean that Harry and Sev won't be able to see each other anymore until Hogwarts. if i go this way i could have harry and petunia attacked by a werewolf which would give an excuse for Petunia to have magic too. they would of course bond with their wolf half and end up having control of their transformed state, unlike Remus who rejects his wolf and cannot control himself during a moon.


	38. A Seer's Gift

Name: A Seer's Gift

Genre: Family/Romance

Rating: T/M

Catagory: Harry Potter

* * *

Severus scowled as he walked down the streets of Muggle London. He had just come from Gringotts, having read his Grandparent's will. Apparently they left everything to him, on the stipulation that he must have and heir. He had no shortage of children, having secretly adopted a number of students, plus as head of house all the Slytherins were legally his children from the start to end of the school year, holidays notwithstanding.

No, he had to take a wife and have a biological child, within the next few years, to receive his inheritance. Load of bull that was.

He turned a corner, heading towards a secluded Muggle store he frequented from time to time, when he spotted a young lady huddled half behind a bin. He stepped forward slowly, so as not to startle her. She was clutching a ratty, threadbare towel to her and he could see she was nude beneath it. Her hair shifted from one shade of blonde to a much paler one, almost white if not for the filth tangled into it. He looked over her features, finding her pretty enough, even as her eyes changed from grey-blue to white.

He tilted his head. He was unlikely to find someone to actually love him, ever, let alone in the next year. If he were to be married it would have to be an arranged one. This girl clearly needed somewhere to go and was clearly magical if her metamorphmagus abilities were any indication.

"How old are you?"

She blinked up at him. "Twenty four... sir."

He nodded slowly. She was only a bit older than his oldest son but... "Come with me then." He held a hand down to her.

She looked up at him with no small amount of fear but as he stood unmoving she swallowed and cautiously took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and tugged her close. A whispered, "Hold tight." was her only warning before he apparated them to his home.

She held her as she got her feet under herself and then gently guided her up the steps and into the house, though Manor was a more accurate term. He had acquired it years ago, shortly after becoming head of Slytherin and adopting his first child. A third year Hufflepuff who was being abused at home, like all the children he'd adopted over the years. She had, of course, moved out by now but she still stopped by to visit occasionally during the holidays.

He led the young woman up to the spare suit next to his and showed her to the adjoining bathroom. "Take your time. I will have some clothes ready for you when you are finished."

He left, closing the door behind him and went into his own room, finding some suitable clothes in the chest he kept for just such an occasion. He lay them out on the bed in the spare room and headed downstairs, setting a charm to alert him when she was finished in the shower. He quickly put some food on the stove. Nothing too heavy, as he was not sure when the last time she ate was.

He was just plating up the food when the charm went off to alert him she was finished in the shower. He looked the food over before shrugging and putting it on a tray and carrying it upstairs, careful not to make too much noise. It was late enough that most of his children would be asleep and those that weren't soon would be. He gently knocked on the door and heard a quiet "come in..." and wandlessly opened the door.

The girl was sitting on the edge on the bed, looking decidedly out of place. Her hair was now a brilliant white but her eyes were a steely grey and she looked him over.

He placed the tray next to her and indicated she should eat. "I will be in the room next door." He pointed to the wall between their rooms. "Come see me when you have eaten and we shall discuss some things." He stood and left the room, shutting the door behind him and heading into his own room.

It was a while later he head a tentative knock on the door and called her to entre. She stepped inside and walked over, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed, as far away from him as she could without being out of arms reach.

He looked her over again, noting her figure, visible beneath the thin white shirt and her hair hung down to just past her elbows, tangle free and clean. "I never asked your name?" he looked her in the eyes, noting the way they were now white again.

"Aurora."

He blinked. "Aurora... that's a beautiful name."

She blushed slightly and ducked her head. "Thank you."

He nodded. "Now, Aurora. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, provided you do not harm my children."

She nodded. "What's the catch?" her eyes and now her hair, were a steely grey.

He nodded. "You are free to stay, regardless, however there is something I would like. You are free to say no, I would not want to force you into this, as it is not something one should ever be forced into. My home is open to you, regardless of your decision. I will also pay for you to have further education if you wish it, and to assist you in seeking employment if you want. You need not accept my offer to receive my help and hospitality."

She frowned slightly. "And what is your offer?"

He nodded. "I find myself in need of an heir, related by blood. I have a reputation as a... completely unapproachable man, with a dark past and a sharp, spiteful attitude. I will need to find a wife and have an heir by this time, two years from now. I will be unable to find a wife by normal means in that time as most people... are afraid of me. Those that aren't, are married or my children."

Aurora frowned. "If you have children, why do you need an heir?"

"None of my children are related to me by blood. I adopted all of them as their family situation leaves a lot to be desired. All but two were badly abused and I adopted them to get them out of their homes."

"What about the other two?"

"One lived in an orphanage, the other, his parents spoke to me and I adopted him as I could provide him a better life than they could. They write to him but due to... political situations, as well as monetary ones, it was deemed better for him to be here."

She nodded. "Right. And why do you need an heir of your own?"

"My grandparents were from an old and noble family line. My mother was cut off because she married someone they deemed unacceptable. I am the last of the line. My grandfather recently passed and left everything to me, on the stipulation that I have an heir. I suppose he wanted to ensure the line doesn't die out but he put a time constraint on it that would be impossible to keep under normal circumstances."

Aurora sat back and looked him over sceptically. "And you want me to give you an heir."

Severus nodded. "If you agree to it of course. We have a little over a year to get to know each other before the child would need to be conceived. You do not have to assist me if you do not want to. The decision is up to you. I can find someone else if you do not wish to help me, but my assistance to you, stands regardless. No one should have to live on the streets."

Aurora looked him over. "So, if I don't agree to give you an heir, you'll still let me stay here. You'll help me get a job and all that?"

He nodded. "Yes. You are free to stay for as long as you wish, no strings attached."

"Why?"

He blinked and turned to look ahead of him. Seriously thinking on the answer. "To be honest... I've never thought about it... I adopted my first child because I couldn't stand to see anyone else in my position. The mask I put on in public, is not too dissimilar to what I once was, but is not who I am now. I do not show who I am in public since my political situation demands a certain level of behaviour from me... I guess I compensate for that by assisting anyone when I can." He looked back up to her, slightly surprised at how honest he was being. He frowned and looked her over.

She smiled. "I can force people to tell me the truth. I don't do it often, but I needed to be sure." She looked away and they both sat in silence for a minute. Severus watched in amazement as the majority of her hair turned black while different streaks changed through a rainbow of different colours.

She looked back over at him. "I will spend this year getting to know you. You seem... nice enough. I suppose I wouldn't mind helping you out."

He smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you."

She smiled. "Shall we start off with introductions? You know my name, and of course you know I have no job, family or home to speak of."

Severus felt heat rise into his cheeks somewhat as he realised he had asked a woman to have a child with him and she didn't even know his name. "My apologies. My name is Severus Snape. I am the potions teacher at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She tilted her head. "Witchcraft and Wizardry... is that how you were able to get us here from London?"

He blinked. "Yes... you don't know about magic?"

She shook her head. "I know I can change the colour of my hair and eyes. I know I can do things normal humans can't. I didn't know it was magic. I didn't know there were other people out there with these skills."

He nodded. "You were living on the streets when you were eleven?"

She blinked and sat up straighter. "Yes... how did you know?"

He smirked sadly. "All the children in Britain with any amount of magic get a letter when they are eleven, accepting them into Hogwarts. If you were living on the streets you wouldn't have had an address for the letter to be addressed to so you wouldn't have received one."

She nodded. "And... you teach magic?"

"Yes."

"You could teach me?"

He nodded. "Of course."

She smiled. "Alright then."

He nodded. "First, I believe sleep is in order. It is quite late and you look like you could do with a decent night's sleep. You are free to use the room next door."

Aurora nodded and stood, looking around his room. "For now, yes. But if I am to have your child, I don't want it to be a loveless marriage. We will have to share a bed at some point."

Severus blinked. "Naturally."

She nodded again. "Goodnight then, Severus."

He smiled and stood, gently taking her hand and brushing a gentle kiss across her knuckles. "Good night, Aurora."

.oOo.

Severus looked over his paper at his family. The holidays had only begun two weeks ago so they were all exited for the holidays and were discussing plans for things. Severus had been planning to take a trip this year as a family, rent out some hotel rooms and take them all abroad. He wouldn't really have the time for that now. They could probably take a few outings as a group, they usually went at least one place during the summer, but they didn't have the time for a holiday abroad.

Aurora sat to his right, her hair flashing different shades of blond with bits of pink occasionally mixed in. It rarely stayed the same colour for more than a few moments, and them only if she was being serious about something. She had only been there a week, but was already part of the family, as if she had been there the whole time.

All twenty six of his children were here, the oldest with their significant others.

The very oldest of his children was Michael. He was now twenty two and sitting beside him was his pregnant wife, Eileen. Married for a year and a half now.

His second was Craig, who was sitting beside his girlfriend of nine years, Lucy Hankins. If he didn't pop the question soon, she would from getting tired of waiting. Craig was only a few months younger than Michael, having been in the same year.

Next were four of his children, Sean and Emily, Amber and October. Sean and Emily were twins, both were dating a boy named Luke, who seemed to have his hands full with them both.

Then there was Jackson, Lukas and Neal who had graduated that year

Ivan, Nicola and Natalie would just be entering their seventh year this year. Victoria, James and Lysander their sixth, Emma and Jenna their fifth, Jimmy, Virginia and Esme their fourth, Sophia, Georgina and Leo their third and Lucile and Casper their second.

His very youngest was Simon, who was only nine. It had been hard to keep him a secret from the headmaster, to be sure. Simon's father had been a low rank Death Eater during the last war but after the Dark Lord's fall had giving all the information he had to the Aurors and even helping them to track down and trap several other Death Eaters. He and his wife had been barely scraping by when Simon had come along, surprising them. They were constantly worried about getting enough food for him and often went without, themselves, to make sure he had enough.

They had to leave their home when it got attacked by Death Eaters one night. The man had heard of what Severus was doing and had implored him to take Simon, to keep him safe from anyone wanting revenge on him for betraying the dark lord as well as ensuring he had a safe home, with a constant, steady supply of food.

Simon was currently seated next to Aurora who was fussing over a tiny graze on his knee where he had fallen yesterday. She turned to him. "Can't you heal wounds with magic?"

Severus nodded. "Yes, but I only do so if the injury causes them distress. Simon is quite proud of his graze. Besides, healing every tiny bump and scrape would not only completely deplete my healing potions stocks but would also not teach them to be careful not to injure themselves in the future."

Aurora hummed and turned back to Simon, listening to his exited tale of how he scraped his knee.

Severus smiled inwardly. She fit perfectly into his family. In only one week she had become a mother to all of them. Eileen, Lucy, Emily, Amber and October had dragged Aurora off the first day, along with Severus' bank key, and had come back with several huge bags of clothes. Severus had also instructed Eileen to select a vanity for here as well as his quarters at school, as he didn't have one, but would need one when Aurora moved into his room.

The women had been gone all day and returned after dinner, saying they had already eaten, before vanishing again until lunch the next day. Severus had found the vanity in his room, up against the wall, his wardrobe having been moved a few feet to one side to make the room look more even. He had to admit, the room looked less empty now, even though the vanity itself was empty.

Aurora had spent her second day with the kids, getting to know all of them. She had a relaxed, easygoing nature that just made all the kids instantly get on with her. He swore he had even heard one slip up and call her 'Mom', though he wasn't sure who. Despite this she still had a slight edge to her that screamed 'Don't mess with me' like most street kids seemed to have. Somehow, this actually made it easier for them all to get along with her. She seemed to instinctively know when the kids needed a mother figure, and when they needed a friend. The fact that she was only a little bit older than their oldest brother probably helped with that.

In the week she had been here she had soothed four nightmares from Lucile and Casper and three panic attacks from Esme, who he had only adopted this year as she was wary of going from one abusive house to another, despite his other children assuring her he wouldn't hurt her. Though, considering what her father did to her, he completely understood. Having Aurora there was good for her.

After breakfast everyone gathered in the entry hall to say goodbye to Michael, Eileen, Craig, Lucy, Sean, Emily, Luke, Amber and October. The three couples had their own homes and Amber and October were sharing a flat. They all came to stay for the first two weeks of the holidays, taking time off work for a short holiday with their family.

Once they had left everyone dispersed to do their own things with Severus calling to remind them to do at least one homework assignment today.

In addition to making sure his kids did their homework he was now teaching Aurora magic. It had become clear immediately that even though she didn't have a wand, she was capable of far more magic than Severus had ever thought possible, and her magic was far stronger. He was fusing her Potions lessons with restocking the hospital wing, though once he had restocked he would be teaching her other potions of course.

In addition to teaching her magic, he was also teaching her to read and write. She knew the basics, having not lived on the streets her whole life she had attended school, but having not used those skills in so long she was a little rusty.

This set the pattern for the summer and the two found themselves finding each other's company quite pleasant. Severus could easily see himself spending his life with this woman, and if the occasional blush was anything to go by, she didn't seem to mind him either.

.oOo.

August seemed to sneak up on them suddenly and Severus took his kids to Diagon Alley to get there school supplies. They were each armed with a list and a pouch full of money. He made the usual arrangements with Madam Malkin about his children's school robes. His kids all ran off in groups, not wanting to be alone but not being able to stay with him.

Aurora took his hand and he smiled slightly at her, much to the shock of the woman who saw and practically fainted into her friend's arms.

They walked down the street and looked through various windows before he led her into Flourish and Blotts. He bought her several books, not just spells books but a few he thought she might be interested in reading in her spare time.

After that they went to a few more shops and stopped outside Spindlewarps Wool shop while she examined a blanket hanging in the window. He looked at the store behind them. 'Remei's Jewellers'. He saw a number of pieces of jewellery in the windows but was unable to get a clear view with the heavy crowds. He looked back to Aurora, who was still looking at the blanket. He smirked slightly. "Why don't you go in and buy it?" he passed her a pouch of money. "There's something I need to pick up. I'll be right back."

Aurora frowned at him but nodded and stepped into the shop. He watched her snag an assistant and slipped across the street into the jewellers. He immediately walked over to the rings and looked them over. Finding a suitable one was easy enough. The garish, everyday ones were on one side of the section while engagement and wedding bands were on the other. Some were too garish and he cast them off easily enough. Within a few moments he had narrowed it down five.

An assistant came over. "Anything I can help you with, sir?"

Severus looked the kid over. "Indeed, Miss West." He looked the rings over again. "I would like this one." It was a simple silver band with a decent sized diamond on it. Nothing too eccentric, but pretty enough.

The girl looked down at it and nodded slowly. "Um, this one comes with resizing charms, everclean charms, antitheft charms and an unbreakable charm... it's supposed to be an engagement ring."

"I know. That is why I wish to buy it."

The girl rocked back on her heels. She had only graduated a few years ago so she likely still remembered him all too clearly. "Really?"

"Yes. Really. Now, the ring?"

She blinked and shook her head. "Um. Yes. Hold on." She walked around the back of the display case and cast a few charms to open the back, taking the ring out. She placed the charms back and led him through to the front of the shop. "Would you like a box?"

"Yes. Black, velvet." He pointed to one on the shelf and she picked it up, easily slotting the ring into its place and closing the lid.

"Um... right... er..."

The store manager stepped over. "Honestly." He took the box and opened it, closing it again and writing up the bill. He passed it silently to Severus who read it over and nodded, signing it and presenting his bank key to the man, who used his till to take the money straight from his vault before passing it back. "Have a good day, sir. And the best of luck."

Severus smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you." He took the ring box and placed it in his inside breast pocket and slipped out of the store. He walked into the Wool shop and found Aurora holding two blankets and looking between them, clearly torn. He smiled and walked over. "We could get both if you wish?"

She jumped slightly. "Severus! Don't sneak up on me like that." She looked back at the blankets. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Of course."

She grinned and passed them both to the rather frazzled looking assistant. "We'll get both then!"

The assistant looked Severus over warily before scurrying across the store with the two blankets and ringing them up. Severus paid for them both and shrunk them down, putting the bag in a side pocket.

They walked back out into the alley, Aurora practically hugging his arm, and walked around for a little while longer.

"Perfesser?"

Severus looked over and saw Hagrid standing there, looking completely shocked, a tiny, bedraggled looking child behind him. "Hagrid." He bowed his head to the man. "Aurora, this is Rubeus Hagrid. He is the groundskeeper at Hogwarts."

Aurora smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Hagrid. I'm Aurora, Severus' Girlfriend." She held out a hand which the half giant shook numbly, even more in shock now than before. She looked down at the child now shuffling out from behind Hagrid. "And who might you be?"

The boy ducked his head slightly and Severus frowned slightly, now recognising him. "I'm Harry... Harry Potter."

Aurora smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry. So, are you going to be attending Hogwarts soon?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm starting this year."

Severus nodded. "Well then, I will see you in class, Mr Potter. I teach Potions." He looked down into those wide, curious eyes and felt a slight tugging in his chest. "A word of advice, when you get your school books, get a copy of 'Preparation encyclopaedia'. It'll be in the potions section. It contains all the different preparation methods and explains them all in depth along with why doing something one way is important. It will help you in my class." He frowned seriously down at him. "I also expect you to pay attention and behave. Potions is a dangerous subject, I wouldn't want you to get hurt because you weren't paying attention and blew up you cauldron."

Potter nodded earnestly. "Of course, sir. Thank you, for suggesting the book, I'll make sure I get one."

Hagrid looked up at the clock on the clock tower. "Well, we'd best get going, we've got ta get all o 'Arry's school supplies and I've got some official Hogwarts business to attend to fer Headmaster Dumbledore."

Severus frowned. Red lights immediately flagged up and his spy side hissed at Hagrid for being so obvious. "Well, if you want to get your Hogwarts business done, I can escort Mr Potter to get his supplies." He cast a side glance at Aurora who nodded subtly, frowning in confusion but willing to go with him for now. "We're here anyway, and as a Head of House, it really is my duty to escort future students in getting their supplies. It is a teacher's duty to introduce children to our world."

Hagrid frowned and looked around. "Ah don't know. Headmaster Dumbledore asked me ta do it..."

Severus stepped closer. "Rubeus, it is a teacher's duty to help their students and, no disrespect meant, but you are not a teacher. Besides, you have official Hogwarts Business to attend to, don't you?"

Hagrid hummed and looked to the side. "Alright." He looked down at Potter. "Ah'll leave you with Perfessor Snape, 'Arry. He'll help ya get yer supplies and such." He rummaged in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a bank key. He handed it to Severus. "Here. It's 'Arry's key. You'll need it ta get into 'is vault." He patted Potter on the shoulder, nearly knocking the poor boy to his knees. Severus scowled internally at the painful wince the child barely held in. "See ya at school 'Arry. Perfesser, Ma'am." He nodded to each of them and left, heading towards Gringotts.

Severus frowned down at the key. "Why did he have this? It should have been given to your Aunt in trust until you turned eleven..." he looked the boy over. "Have you eaten today, Mr Potter?" the boy looked like he hadn't eaten in several weeks if he was honest. Aurora's hand tightened on his and he knew she had spotted it too.

"Um... I had breakfast, Sir..." his stomach rumbled and he blushed heavily.

"Food first then." He looped his arm around Aurora's and gently placed a hand on Potter's shoulder noticing the flinch. "I won't hurt you, Potter." He spoke softly, his voice carrying only far enough for Potter and Aurora to hear. He led them down Diagon Alley to Horizont Alley.

He led them to a favourite restaurant of his and they were seated fairly quickly. Potter was nervous about the menu but Severus assured him he could have anything he wanted. He showed them how to order, and the menu's vanished to the kitchen.

Aurora sat forward. "So, Harry, why is it Mr Hagrid is taking you shopping? Where's your family?"

Potter scowled slightly. "They don't like magic. Aunt Petunia didn't-"

"Petunia?" Severus sat forward. "As in, your mother's sister?" Severus had assumed Potter Sr had a cousin somewhere. Charlus Potter had a sister so her having a child and having them homeschooled didn't seem that strange. He hadn't even considered Dumbledore had sent the poor boy to Petunia...

Potter blinked. "Um... yeah."

Severus sneered. "I remember her. She was a spiteful child. Hated anything and everything to do with magic. Me included. And unfortunately, your mother too. Is she any different now?"

Potter shook his head. "No. She still hates magic. She and Uncle Vernon did everything they could to stop me getting my Hogwarts letter."

Severus blinked at sat back. "And, how was your letter delivered, Mr Potter?"

Potter frowned. "Um... well, we got the first one in the post. I was about to open it when Dudley, he's my cousin, started shouting that I've got a letter. Uncle Vernon took it off me and he and Aunt Petunia went pale and looked at each other like they were scared or something. Anyway, the next day we got two letters in the post and Uncle Vernon threw them in the fireplace. Then I tried to sneak down in the morning to get one but Uncle Vernon was sleeping in front of the door. He boarded up the letter box but then they came through under the door. Then he boarded up the whole house but the milkman passed a dozen eggs through the living room window and they all had one inside them. Then since the next day was Sunday Uncle Vernon was happy since there's no post on Sundays, but then hundreds of letters came in through everywhere. He got us all in the car and we drove around for ages, staying the night in a couple of hotels before Uncle Vernon drove us to this old shack on a rock in the middle of nowhere. Hagrid showed up in the middle of the night and he gave me my letter and told me about the Wizarding world."

Severus frowned. "Hmm... that is not what should have happened. Mr Potter, as a head of house at Hogwarts I am well versed in how students are introduced into the magical world. You should have gotten a visit during August last year by a teacher. They should have explained everything to you and provided you with a number of books and materials you need. The Wizarding world is very different to the Muggle one and Muggleborns need to know about all kinds of things before they come."

Aurora nodded. "I didn't know about this world until recently and I'm amazed by how different it is."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. And Hagrid kept pointing out weird things on the way here, like parking meters. People kept looking at us funny."

Severus nodded. "Indeed. Hagrid is not the most conspicuous of people. Anyway, this summer you were supposed to have one of the four heads of house come to visit, see how you are doing and escort you and your family to Diagon alley to purchase your school supplies if they have agreed to allow you to attend Hogwarts. They have a year to decide. May I see your letter, Mr Potter?"

Harry nodded and handed it over.

Severus read it over and frowned again. "This is not the letter we send out." He looked over the items list. "And there are a few items missing from this list as well..." he looked back up at Potter. "Seems someone has been messing with your mail, Mr Potter. Do not worry. We can sort it out at Gringotts." He held the letters up again. "We send a letter to the children with a magical parent, reminding them of their child's place in the upcoming year and providing a brief reminder of a few of the rules. As for the supplies list, there are a number of books missing from the list along with a few other miscellaneous items. I will ensure you get everything you need, Mr Potter, but I am sure Hagrid would have just stuck to the list and refused to let you get anything else."

Aurora looked the list over. "Like what?"

"Well, it is supposed to say all students need a bag to carry their books in, such as a rucksack, there are a few suggestions for things students might find useful but don't have to get if they don't want to, like paper organisers, calligraphy set cases. You can store your spare ink pots and quills in there without them getting damaged by the rest of your belongings. It is supposed to contain a list of extracurricular classes available, such as the Art or Music classes so if a student is interested they can send a letter applying for the class, students bring their own instruments, though the teacher can provide some for those who don't have any. It is also supposed to include a few other things, such as winter wear, the school is in northern Scotland, it's cold, even when it's warm. Plus it is supposed to say that students should bring at least one set of clothes that are too big in case they hit a growth spurt."

Potter frowned and stared at his empty plate. "I didn't realise you needed so many things for school..."

Severus shook his head slightly. "It is a boarding school, you will be there for nine and a half months, holidays notwithstanding. Parents can, and do, sent their children things they've forgotten at home and we provide owl order catalogues for school supplies all year round and for gifts when it approaches the holiday season."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Potter and Aurora looked in awe as the food appeared magically on the plates. "Cool." They looked at each other and laughed. The conversation passed onto lighter subjects, such as what the school, subjects and professors were like. Potter was excited about seeing the Giant Squid, thought he admitted he didn't know how to swim.

When they finished their meal, Severus paid and they headed back out into the Alley. After going through all the shops necessary and introducing Potter to each of his children they met, though not telling him they were his children, Severus led them to Gringotts. It was then that Potter realised he hadn't paid for any of the school supplies bought that day.

"Ah, Professor. I can pay you back!"

It took Severus several moments to realise what Potter was referring too. "Nonsense, Mr Potter. The money your parents left you was spending money, pocket money over the years. It is your relative's duty to pay for your school supplies, tough I somehow doubt that would happen. I was using the Hogwarts scholarship fund to pay for your supplies. It is what it was designed for."

Potter frowned and nodded. "Oh... right. Okay." He turned back around and started up the steps into the bank.

Aurora leant closer to his ear. "You weren't, were you?"

"Nope."

She giggled and they followed Potter up the steps.

When they got to the top Potter stared in awe at everything. He looked over at the goblins before looking back up at Severus. "What are those, Sir?"

"They are Goblins, Mr Potter. Treat them as you would anyone else and they will be happy to work with you."

Potter nodded and looked around at everything. They all glanced up at the inscription as they walked in and Potter read it out loud. "So... steal from us and you're a dead man?" Potter looked up at him. "What kind of things are down there?"

Severus hummed a moment. "Some of the deeper, more secure vaults are guarded by dragons. If you go even further down you get to the most secure vaults of many of the oldest families. They are each guarded by something. I've heard one vault has several Dementors inside." He saw the question in Potter's eyes. "You do not want to meet a Dementor, Mr Potter. They are soul sucking leeches that draw all the happiness out of you before eating your soul. They guard the prison, Azkaban. You will never meet one, unless you break the law so badly you have to go there."

Potter laughed nervously.

Severus walked up at an available teller and waited for his attention. The goblin finished counting out the gold pieces on the table and looked up at them. "How can I help you today?"

Severus inclined his head. "We would like to speak with the Potter Account Manager." He indicated towards where Harry was standing awkwardly. "Mr Potter needs to know what he has."

The teller sat up. "And are his monthly bank statements not enough?"

Potter frowned. "I don't get any bank statements..."

Severus nodded. "Mr Potter only found out the magical world exists yesterday."

The teller sat up straighter and frowned. "That cannot be possible. We have received letters from Mr Potter in regards to his accounts for years."

Potter shook his head. "I've never..."

Severus frowned. "Perhaps this is a conversation best had behind closed doors?"

The teller nodded and summoned another goblin. With a few quick words the runner nodded and stepped forwards. "If you would follow me."

.oOo.

When they met with Potter's Account Manager the boy had taken a quick blood test to see which vaults he had access to. It turned out, that not only did he have the main Potter Vaults, one for money and one for everything else, but his parents had set up a vault for all of their belongings should they die, which was empty, and a trust vault for him, which was paid into weekly with pocket money. Over eleven years it had accumulated a fair amount. Potter would not have access to the main money vault until he was seventeen, but he had access to the other vaults.

According to Nagknock, items had been removed from this vault by Mr Dumbledore, apparently on Potter's request. As he has Potter's keys they had to allow him entry, even thought it seemed suspicious to them. A large sum of money was also being paid from the main money vault directly to Dumbledore's vault as well as the Dursley's bank account.

Potter shrank back in his chair at that.

He then told Severus a few things about his home life and Severus nodded before asking for Raghook to come in. Potter was soon adopted and they went back to Potter's accounts. He had several other vaults available to him, left in people's wills or one by right of conquest.

Severus promised to tell him about that one later.

After ensuring all the money and items were returned to Mr Potter's vaults along with the keys, which were to be transferred to him, as Potter's father, until Potter turned seventeen.

Nagknock also promised to look into the status of the will and why none of their items were in the vault.

Severus led them back out onto Diagon Alley. "Now, all we need is your wand, and perhaps a pet." Potter grinned up at him, a strange look in his eyes. Severus recognised it immediately. "Harry." He crouched down to look him in the eye. "I will not treat you the same way your deplorable relatives have done. You _will_ _be safe_ with me. You can ask any of your new brothers and sisters when we get home."

Harry blinked. "Brothers... and sisters?"

Severus nodded and smiled slightly. "You are not the first child I have adopted. Why do you think Raghook showed up with exactly the documents we needed?"

"Oh."

Severus stood up and ran a hand through Harry's hair. "Let's finish shopping and get back to the meeting place with the others." He led them down the steps and to Ollivander's. The bell tingled and he looked around the dingy shop, feeling Potter press into his side slightly. All three of them jumped when Ollivander stepped out of seemly nowhere.

"Mr Potter. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it, it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." The old man was now standing far too close to Harry, who was pressed right back into him. "And that's where..." he touched the scar on the boy's forehead, "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

Snape growled loudly and Ollivander backed up away from Harry. Severus gently gripped Harry's shoulders and rubbed his thumbs across the back of his shoulder blades, offering some comfort to the child.

"Severus Snape. How nice to see you again. Eleven and a half inches, Ebony."

Severus nodded. "Indeed." Both he and Ollivander knew he had three other wands, but that one was his first, and favourite.

Ollivander then turned back to Harry. "Now then Mr Potter, which is your wand arm?"

Harry stuttered, "Um, well... I'm right handed."

"Hold it up then." Severus watched in amusement as the enchanted measuring tape measured potter while Ollivander looked around the store. The tape served no purpose but to show off a little and distract the kids while he collected the wands.

It was nearly half an hour later that Potter finally got a wand. Holly and phoenix feather. Severus snarled as Ollivander told Harry it was the brother wand of the Dark Lord's.

After paying for it he dragged Potter and Aurora out of the store and down the street. "Why he can't just sell the wand without giving some kind of back story and advice I will never know. Don't listen to him, Harry. You won't turn out like _him_." They stopped partway down the alley. "Now, Harry. Would you like a pet? Most of the other children going to Hogwarts will have one. You are allowed anything you want, despite your letter stating an owl, cat or toad, though those are recommended. Cats are good companions and can help if you are feeling homesick and owls can be used to carry your mail home. Toads are a traditional pet but, not many children like them, let alone have one."

Harry nodded and looked at the various pet shops around. "I..." he bit his lip slightly. "Um..."

Aurora crouched down. "What is it, sweetie?"

Harry looked up trough his lashes. "Can I have a snake?"

Severus rocked backwards with shock, "A snake?"

Harry nodded. "Um... I met this one at the zoo... he was cool..."

Severus frowned at the terminology. Met? "Well, I don't see why not. As long as it doesn't hurt any of your classmates."

Harry nodded frantically. "I'll be careful."

Severus nodded and led them to the pet shop. The only one on Diagon that sold snakes. They looked them over and Severus paled when he realised the hissing was not the snakes. It was Harry. He looked at the boy in shock. "You can speak Parseltongue?"

The boy blinked up at him. "What?"

"Parseltongue. Snake language."

"Oh. Yeah."

Aurora gasped. "Oh, that's cool! I wish I could do that."

Severus nodded. "I believe a quarter of Wizarding Britain would kill for that particular skill."

Harry frowned. "Is it rare then?"

Severus nodded. "Indeed it is." He paused for a moment. "Harry. I cannot stress this enough. No one must know about this. You cannot let anyone find out. I will tell you why later, but you must be careful."

Harry nodded. "Okay..." he turned back to the snakes and eventually turned back around, pointing at the biggest one. "Her."

Severus looked down at the reticulated python. "Alright..." he waved over the shop keeper and indicated the snake. He winced and opened the door. Harry reached in and took the snake out, the thing barely fitting in his arms. She wrapped herself around his shoulders and he grinned up at Severus. "Are you sure, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yup."

Severus nodded. "Alright then."

As they walked towards the counter Aurora stopped to look at some of the birds and ended up turning towards Severus, eyes big and pleading as she pointed up at a bat. He smiled and nodded. She grinned and lifted the cage down, bringing it over to the counter. The shop keeper looked the two animals over. "So, the snake and the bat? Anything else? Vivarium, food?"

Severus blinked. "Both would be good."

The man nodded and showed them several vivariums and Harry selected the one he wanted, though Severus was sure the snake was the one that chose. Aurora also chose a couple of perches for her new bat. After paying for everything they left the store and headed towards the Leakey Cauldron. Severus was startled when a snowy owl flew out of nowhere and landed on Harry's head. The snake shifted and the bird hopped onto his boy's shoulder.

The four of them stared at the bird for a moment, snake and bird having some kind of staring contest, before the snake settled back down and the owl shifted, putting her head under one wing.

Severus hummed. "Looks like she chose you, Harry."

Harry looked the bird over, as best he could with her being so close to his face. "She's pretty."

Severus nodded. "We have plenty of food and perches for her to choose from." He looked around but couldn't see anyone that seemed to be looking for her. "Let's get going. No sense keeping the others waiting too long."

When they got to the Leakey Cauldron they walked towards the huddle of students that was Severus' children. "Everyone here?" he asked even as he scanned the crowd and noticed all heads accounted for.

"Yes sir." Came the simultaneous chorus.

He smirked and nodded. "Home then." He directed them towards the fireplace and each of them flooed home. Once they were all through he looked to Harry. "Here, you can floo with me this time." Harry nodded and stepped closer. Severus waved Aurora through and stepped in after her, flooing with Harry tight to his side.

Once home he led Harry upstairs and showed him to his room. "We'll go back out later on and I will buy you some more clothes and such. For now, unpack your things and take a look around the manor. Upstairs is the library and the basement is my potions lab and office. Don't go into my lab without me."

Harry nodded.

Severus nodded back and pulled out Harry's purchases and lay them on the bed before nodding to the boy again and leaving the room.

.oOo.

Severus Left Harry's room and went downstairs to start on dinner. Once setting the charms and monitoring wards he went to each of his kids, checking their school supplies, happy that no one had forgotten anything. It was frustrating, not having a house elf to help but since he was gone nine months of the year, there was no point. Albus had said that staff were not allowed their own elves at school, they had to use school ones and leave their own elves at home.

He walked back into his room and pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

He'd bought it on a whim, but the two of them would be married eventually so he would need it sometime in the next year. Strangely, he felt nervous, as if she would say no. She'd already said yes, essentially. She was good with the kids so he had no doubt in her mothering skills. He shook his head and hid the box in a compartment at the back of his bedside table.

He shook his head and went back downstairs to keep an eye on the dinner. Charms were one thing, but he preferred to see the food for himself. When he got to the kitchen he found Harry standing in the doorway, staring in fascination at everything moving by itself. Severus stepped up behind him, making sure his shoes clicked across the floor. "Cooking charms. They can be found in every book on house hold charms."

Harry looked up at him. "You can use magic to cook?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. If there is anything that can be done, magic has a way of doing it. Most wizards are lazy and prefer to do everything with a simple wave of a wand." He waved a hand in the air dramatically. "I prefer to do things the normal way, though I use charms for cooking. With such a big family to feed, I'd never leave the kitchen if I didn't use the spells."

Harry nodded slowly. "Can I... help with anything?"

Severus looked down at him. "You like to cook?"

Harry nodded shyly.

Severus nodded. "If you want to help, you are more than welcome to." He stepped forwards and paused. "During dinner I will introduce you to everyone properly. It'll take you a while to remember everyone's names but that's okay."

Harry nodded and stepped forward looking everything over to see what was cooking. There were four pots on the stove, each with the same food in it, while six other pots sat steaming along the counter.

Severus nodded to everything. "Actually, all that's left is monitoring it all. It should be ready in about two hours. Have you explored the house yet?"

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

Severus leant against the table, "Is there anywhere in particular you like in the house?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I like the garden, sir."

Severus nodded and smiled. "That's my favourite too. Especially in the summer. It's just a shame I can't grow anything useful out there, I'm away at boarding school nine months of the year, I just don't have the time to tend to a garden so those flower beds are the best I can do." He smiled slightly. "Although having an out of control garden means the kids can get some herbology practice in during the summer."

Harry smiled hesitantly.

Severus tilted his head. "Some of your new siblings would undoubtedly be in the garden, why don't you go and meet them? I promise, they won't hurt you or anything. I raised them better than that."

Harry nodded and walked towards the doorway. "Um sir? When will you explain about those things..." he trailed off and looked nervously up at him.

Severus frowned. "Tomorrow, after breakfast. It really isn't the kind of thing you talk about before bed and it would all be too much information at once today, you'll never get to sleep. On that note, I'll leave a mild sleeping draft on your bedside table if you need it."

Harry frowned. "Sleeping draft?"

"Sleeping potions come in many different strengths. The weakest, which is the one I'll be putting on your bedside table, is simply a relaxant that makes you sleepy. It helps you fall asleep at night if you need the extra nudge. Stronger ones actually put you to sleep."

Harry nodded. "Right. Okay. Thank you, sir."

"You may call me Severus, here at home, Harry, though at school you will call me sir, or Professor Snape, while we are around other students."

Harry nodded and Severus made a shooing gesture. The boy silently slipped out of the room and headed off towards the back of the house, hopefully to go into the garden.

.oOo.

Dinner had been an affair. He had introduced Harry to everyone, and once he told them his last name the room was full of children swearing vengeance on those horrendous people. He'd had to reprimand them all for language several times. Harry had sat there next to him, stunned into silence.

Harry had retreated to his room after dinner and Aurora had gone after him a few minutes later. He thought it best to leave her to it. That had been a few hours ago. He looked up as the door to his room opened and Aurora stepped in. "Everything okay?"

She nodded and walked over, sitting on the edge of his bed. He had to try very, very hard not to stare at her chest in that negligee.

"If we are to try at a relationship, we need to actually try to _have_ a relationship."

Severus nodded, still trying not to stare. "You did introduce yourself to Hagrid as my girlfriend." He thought about the ring in the box in his bedside table. "I suppose we should try. As you said, we cannot raise a child in a loveless marriage."

Aurora smirked. "Good. Shall I move in here then?"

She leant forwards and Severus found his eyes drifting down. "Okay..."

Aurora smirked and clicked her fingers, an already packed suitcase flying into the room and unpacking itself. Severus watched her clothes fly into the closet, neatly arranged beside his own, her books flew onto the half empty bookcase next to the lounge chair, the few bits of jewellery and makeup flying to the vanity against the wall.

He smiled. "You're getting good with your magic."

Aurora smiled. "Wanna see what else I can do?"

Severus jerked in surprise as his clothes were banished to the chair next to the vanity. He looked back at the almost predatory look in Aurora's golden eyes and swallowed. This... was why he didn't date in school.

He lay back on the bed as Aurora crawled on top of him, smirking. Severus was vaguely reminded of a black widow spider and swallowed hard, wondering for the first time if plucking a random woman off the street was the best idea...

Too late now.

.oOo.

The next morning, after breakfast, Severus took Harry down to his office. He warded the door silently so no one would be able to hear the conversation and sat down, waving Harry to the seat opposite. He'd had many conversations with his kids in here, from past abuses to current issues.

This conversation was likely to be harder than any of them.

Severus sat forwards in his chair. "Now, there was a lot of information you were presented with yesterday that has obviously left you with a lot of questions..." he rubbed his hands together nervously. "Aside from the ones about magic in general, which I will answer at a later date, I am going to answer some of them now. To understand a lot of it though... I'm going to have to give you a bit of a history lesson.

"Throughout our history we have had conflicts between ourselves. Lots of short, civil wars. We have Dark Lords, who are similar to Hitler, have you covered him in school?"

"No sir."

"Well, he was a bad man in Germany who thought everyone who was Jewish needed to die. He gathered a following and started killing them. The other countries got involved and it ended up starting World War II."

Harry nodded. "Alright."

"This rarely ever happens in the Muggle world. In our world, however, it is a lot more common. There had been a Dark Lord by the name of Grindelwald. He was defeated by Albus Dumbledore, who is now the Headmaster of Hogwarts. At the time, he was a transfiguration teacher. A few years after Grindelwald was defeated, a boy was born, Tom Riddle. His mother was a witch, though she had so little magic she was considered a Squib. A squib is someone with magical parents who doesn't have any magic themselves, the opposite of a Muggleborn, basically. His father was a Muggle. His mother, Merope, had used a love potion to get his father, Tom, who he was named after, to fall in love with her. When she stopped giving him love potions he ran away. Merope sadly died in childbirth, after naming her son, Tom, for his father, Marvolo, for her father, Riddle, again after his father."

Harry tilted his head. "So... this kid was called Tom, and so was his dad?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. More confusing is Tom sr's father was called Thomas. Tom was named after him, and Tom Marvolo named after him."

Harry chuckled. "Confusing... why did she give him the same name as his dad?"

Severus shrugged. "It's tradition in a lot of Scottish families. Anyway, Tom grew up in a Muggle orphanage so when he started developing his magic the people around him didn't react very well. There was also a problem Merope hadn't accounted for. Children conceived under a love potion, are incapable of feeling, or understanding, positive emotions. They just can't. It has something to do with the fake emotions caused by the love potion, but it meant that Tom was unable to feel any kind of love or happiness, so he set out to make everyone else as miserable as he was."

Harry frowned. "That sounds terrible... why would anyone want a child who can't be happy or love you back?"

Severus nodded. "Some people are just so desperate for love that they grab the one they want through any means necessary."

Harry pouted sadly.

"Anyway, Dumbledore was the one to give Tom his Hogwarts letter. He could see there was something not right about him but didn't know what at the time. All he saw was a spiteful and bitter child, who needed a firm hand of guidance. When Tom went to Hogwarts he charmed his way into everyone's good books. The only person he was unable to fool was the Headmaster. In his sixth year he opened a place in the school called the Chamber of Secrets. No one knows where it is and a lot of people think it is just a myth. The monster inside the chamber had been petrifying students but one was killed. He managed to pin the blame on Hagrid and sealed the monster back in the chamber of secrets."

Harry tilted his head. "What was the monster? And what's petrified?"

"No one knows what the monster was, it's why we call it a monster and not by its name. Petrification is similar to turning someone into stone, but without the stone. They are still flesh and blood but they cannot move and are completely unaware of the world around them. They are also frozen stiff, so it is different than falling into a coma."

Harry nodded.

"Now, as Tom was going through school he gathered a group of friends to himself they called themselves 'The Knights of Walpurgis'. When they all graduated, Tom began to do Dark and forbidden rituals to gain power. As one point he went back to Hogwarts to ask for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Albus, who by now was headmaster, could see the path he was going down and denied him the place. Tom apparently placed a curse on the positions because since then, no one has been able to hold the place for more than a year."

Harry frowned. "Really? Why would anyone want the place then?"

Severus nodded. "Exactly. It is very hard to find someone willing to teach that subject. Anyway, Tom then changed his name... I cannot say it out loud but I can write it down for you." He summoned a piece of parchment. "People call him by different names. Most simply go with You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Those who were the Knights of Walpurgis, or Death Eaters as they came to be called, simply called him the Dark Lord. If any of them used his name, it sent searing pain through their Dark Mark and either they died, or they were summoned to him and killed."

Harry tilted his head. "What's the Dark Mark?"

Severus rolled up his sleeve. "This. It is similar to a magical tattoo or fealty mark. So long as he's alive, this mark will be on our skin. It taps into our magic and drains it a little, adding to his strength. He can either summon us with it or cause us pain and send us completely mad, or even kill us, if we have betrayed him."

Harry stared at the mark horrified. "So he could kill you from a distance? That's horrible!"

Severus nodded slowly.

Harry seemed to understand what the mark meant then and looked shyly up at Severus. "So... you're a Death Eater?"

Severus shook his head. "I used to be. We'll get to me in a minute." He passed the paper with 'Voldemort' written on it over to Harry. "Please do not say his mane in front of me. It makes the mark hurt. One of the reasons people became afraid to say it. If they said it near a Death Eater they would act like the Dark Lord was about to pop up any second, which caused everyone to be afraid of the name."

Harry nodded slowly.

"The Dark Lord recruited people called Pure-Bloods. People who have magical ancestors for a long time in their family tree. They believed that because their blood is 'pure' it makes them better than Muggleborns and Half-bloods. They wanted to kill all the Muggles and Muggleborns and the Dark Lord told them he could help them do that, to 'purify Britain'. He also offered help to people and then demanded servitude from them as payment after he helped them. To others, he offered family. He offered them a place where they can be accepted, their talents appreciated. That was how he drew me in..."

Harry shuffled closer and gently grasped his hands with one of his own.

Severus took a deep breath. "The war didn't really pick up until about my fourth year at Hogwarts. When I was about fourteen, fifteen... before I started Hogwarts I met a girl down the street from me. Lily Evans. She was a witch. I told her as such and at first she didn't believe me but then she realised that all the impossible things she'd been doing were actually magic. This girl, was your mother."

Harry sat up straight.

Severus looked at him. "We were very close friends, practically siblings growing up, though I did develop a crush on her for a long time. When we got to Hogwarts she was sorted into Gryffindor, and I into Slytherin. The rivalry between the two houses was pretty bad at the time. Not as bad as the outright hatred now, but it was an intense rivalry. If you were in one house, you were not allowed to be friends with someone from the other one."

Harry huffed. "That's stupid."

Severus nodded. "Indeed. Lily and I stayed friends until out Fifth year. After our end of year exams... I said something rather horrible to her, called her an unforgivable name. She never forgave me..."

Harry frowned. "Never?"

"No."

"That's dumb. You'd been friends for so long. Why give that up?"

Severus shook his head, surprisingly happy that someone would take his side. "It had been coming a long time I suppose. We were both being pressured by our housemates to stop being friends and there was your father. He and his friends, who were in the same year as you mother and me, called themselves 'The Marauders'. Well, your mother came up with the name, as an insult, but they took it as their own. Thought it was funny. They... like to cause trouble, for everyone. They were pranksters, but they didn't always have the best intentions... there are two, currently at the school. Whenever they prank someone it is always to cheer someone up, or lighten the mood after something bad happens. Your father and his friends pranked people because they thought it was funny."

Harry scowled. "What?"

Severus freed his hands from Harry's and grasped the boy's hands in his own. "Harry, your father was a bully to me in school, but I gave back as good as I got and he was a good friend to his friends. And in our seventh year he changed completely. He was a dumb kid, but he grew up and gave his life for you and your mother, to give you a chance to escape, but I'll get to that later. I cannot tell you anything good about him, but there are those who can. Anyway, with the tensions between your father and myself, along with me learning some of the more... questionable magics, to try and gain my housemates approval, it put a lot of strain on my friendship with your mother, so when we fell out, it was something that had been coming for a long time."

Harry nodded. "Okay..."

Severus nodded. "Now, just at the end of our sixth year, your grandparents, your father's parents, died. He went home early and came back the next year a completely different person. And as he was elected head-boy, he had students of all four houses coming to him for advice on everything, from help with homework to shortcuts to get to class on time. He grew up considerably, maturing and becoming someone who you could depend upon. You mother saw this side of him for the first time, since he had only shown that side to his friends, if at all, and she fell in love with him, returning the feelings he'd had for her since third year at least."

Harry chuckled slightly.

Severus frowned. "This... made me kind of angry. At the time, all I could see was the person he had been the last six years. I couldn't see the grown up side of him." Severus paused, trying to gather himself. "My father was a muggle, and he didn't like magic, or me or my mum much. My mom, wasn't what you'd call an emotional woman. I think all those years with my father just... broke her spirit. Growing up I had no one to tell me I had done a good job, so when my dorm mates started praising my work... it meant the world to me, since the only people to do so were Lily, and my potions teacher, Professor Slughorn."

Harry frowned and pouted slightly.

Severus drew his hands back. "When I left school, I was penniless, homeless and had no one to go to. Then Lucius Malfoy came to me, offering me a home and a 'friend of his' would sponsor my apprenticeship to help me get my mastery in potions. I met this 'friend' of his, the Dark Lord, a few months after I started the apprenticeship. He promised me a home, with a family of people like me who had been cast off our whole lives. I jumped at the chance obviously... it was... the second biggest mistake of my life."

"Second biggest?"

Severus nodded. "Yes... as his potions master I didn't know what the Death Eaters did for a long time. All I did was make potions. Some of them were really bad but I was carried away with having all these rare ingredients at my disposal for the first time ever. When I found out what they did... I regretted my decision but there was little I could do... then I made the biggest mistake of my life. I had heard that Dumbledore was interviewing a woman for the position of Divination instructor in the Hog's Head. I eavesdropped on the conversation and heard the beginning of a prophesy. 'The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.' I didn't get to hear the rest of it as I was discovered and thrown out."

Harry frowned. "A prophesy?"

Severus nodded. "It's when a seer, someone who can see the future, sees something from the future that someone in the present needs to know about. They deliver a prophesy. Usually they don't remember it afterwards, unlike a vision."

Harry nodded. "Right."

Severus nodded. "Like the good little lap dog I was, I took the prophesy to the Dark Lord, expecting to be rewarded... I was punished for not hearing the entire thing... that was when I started to see that this was not what I had been promised. As I had never failed to give him the potions he needed, I had never been punished before. Afterwards, Lucius took me upstairs and healed me up. I asked him if he was always like that. Lucius smirked and said. 'That's him on a good day.' It was several months later that we got news that your mother was pregnant with you, and you were due at the end of July... as the seventh month dies. There was also the Longbottoms, who were expecting a child at the end of July. The Dark Lord chose you."

Harry nodded and rubbed his scar.

"When I heard, I tried to persuade him not to kill your mother, and to raise you as his own, as his heir instead of his enemy... he promised to spare your mother, but not you. I knew your mother would not survive that, and so I went to Dumbledore and told him everything. He sent your family into hiding and I became his spy. I then became a double agent, pretending to spy on Dumbledore for the Dark Lord." Severus paused. "Your parents were safe for a while, but they were betrayed by one of your father's friends. The Dark Lord came to your house, on October the thrity first, nineteen eighty one, and killed your father in the doorway. We think he was trying to buy your mother time to take you and run. Your mother was found in your nursery, where you were in the cot. For some reason, when he attacked you, the spell rebounded off your scar and mostly killed him. It blew up the roof of your nursery and somehow he vanished. No one knows exactly what happened or how, but he vanished. Everyone started calling you 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. They hail you like a celebrity."

Harry frowned. "But I didn't do anything..."

Severus nodded. "I know, but it was dark times. The war had completely picked up by that point. Everyone was living in fear. People were being snatched off the streets. There were villages being attacked left right and centre. Everyone was scared. To them, you are a hero. I know it's stupid, but people don't think straight when they're scared and by the time the fear washed away you were already a hero and everyone loves a hero."

Harry sat in silence for a while.

Severus Sat back in his chair, face carefully closed off. "So, now you know... it was thanks to me that your parents were killed... If you wish to cancel the adoption we can. It will take a few days to go through. There are a number of families that would gladly take you in, if you cannot stand being the son of a Death Eater."

Harry sat in silence for a while longer. "You said you regret becoming a Death Eater."

"Yes."

Harry looked at him for a moment before he reached forward and placed on hand on either side of his dark mark. He screwed his face up in concentration for a moment and Severus's world exploded in pain.

When he came to, he was slumped sideways in his chair, Harry flitting around and muttering, breath hitching and clearly in the middle of a panic attack.

Severus pushed himself upright, feeling slightly dizzy, only to get a lapful of crying eleven year old. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"HARRY!" The boy froze and looked fearfully up at him. "It's okay. Calm down. Hush child." He gently rubbed a hand up and down Harry's back. The boy buried his face in his shirt and sobbed quietly for a few minutes before he calmed down.

Harry sat up straight, rubbing the tears off his face with the heel of one hand, the other still tightly clenched in Severus' shirt. "Sorry..."

Severus raised his arm to wipe some stray teas off Harry's cheek when he froze, staring down at his arm. He sat very still and stared at the blank, unmarked forearm. "Harry..." his voice came out as a breathy whisper.

Harry looked up at him. "h-huh?"

Severus blinked slowly. The mark didn't reappear. "You... you got... rid of my mark..." his voice shook unsteadily.

Harry nodded slowly. "Y-yes... I-"

Severus wrapped his amrs around the boy, drawing him close and burying his head in the child's messy hair. "Thank you..." his voice cracked as he felt tears flow freely. "Thank you... so much... I... thank you..." he rocked back and forth slightly, completely overcome.

Not only did this boy not blame him for what happened, but he forgave him and _removed his mark_. That was something no one else had done for him. No one had ever forgiven him... no one had looked into a way to remove the mark...

no one who could, cared enough to try.

.oOo.

Severus placed his suitcase next to the fireplace. He had to return to the school two weeks early. All his children were home now, the adult ones usually helping look after the younger ones while he was away, before the start of the school year. He looked the adults over. "You will make sure they are all packed and ready to go the night before?"

"Yes dad."

He nodded. "I will see you all in two weeks." He nodded to his children and looked to Aurora, who had her bag slung over her shoulder. In the two weeks since that trip to Diagon and her moving into his bedroom, they had grown much closer. It was almost as if they had been together for years, father than a few months. "Ready?"

She nodded and stepped forward. Just as they were about to grab the floo powder Jenna stepped forward and hugged Severus, before hugging Aurora. Both adults hugged each of the children in turn before finally stepping through the floo into Albus' office.

Severus nodded to Albus, even as he reached out and caught Aurora as she stumbled out of the fire. She righted herself and her hair and eyes went pink, along with her cheeks. "Sorry..." she mumbled.

He smiled gently, something he'd been doing more of lately. "It's fine. It can take a while to get used to floo travel."

She smiled back up at him and he felt the now familiar fluttering in his chest. He really did care for this woman... hell he might as well admit it. He was in love with her. In such a short time, he had fallen hard and fast. He looked up to find he was the last member of staff to arrive. He nodded to them. "Morning."

Albus twinkled and looked Aurora over. "Severus. Are you going to introduce us?"

Severus nodded. "This is my girlfriend, Aurora."

She stepped forwards and bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you. Severus has told me a lot about you."

Minerva smiled. "Well, anyone who can put a smile of that sour bat' face is welcome in my book. Minerva McGonagall. I am the transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor."

Aurora shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Sinistra stepped forward. "Your name is Aurora?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes."

"Mine too."

Aurora laughed. "Well, that's going to get confusing."

This started a round of introductions and Aurora charmed her way into everyone's good books. Severus noticed the only seat available was a two person loveseat and settled down on one side of it, Aurora flopping down next to him and curling into his side once she had shaken everyone's hands. Severus found himself smiling down at her as he ran a hand through her now pale blue hair.

She looked up at him, her eyes a steely grey that set his spy senses on edge. He didn't show anything outwardly but inside his mind was whirling. What had set her off like that? Her eyes had only been grey like that after he'd picked her up and after each of his children let something slip about their old life. He associated that particular colour with her being wary, cautious and upset about something.

Albus steepled his fingers. "So, how did the two of you meet?"

Aurora looked over to him and grinned, easily slipping into the slightly untrue story they'd come up with. "Oh, it's romantic really. Last year I found myself in some trouble on the streets. I've been living there since I was nine. I was cornered by this guy when Severus swooped in and chased him off. He took me back to his place and healed me up. I was pretty shaken and since I didn't have anywhere else to go he let me stay with him. I stayed at his place while he was here last year and we wrote each other a lot. This summer... we just seemed to fall into place."

Severus smiled down at her and kissed her forehead as she looked up at him. He saw her eyes flicker gold and a deep, pinkish-red, before she glanced to the side slightly and they went white before turning grey again. Something was really upsetting her.

Poppy and Pomona twitterd. Rolanda smiled. "So romantic. Who knew, eh Severus?"

Severus mock scowled at her, his face holding significantly less venom than before.

Albus frowned. "This will make your cover a lot harder."

Severus frowned at him. "What do you mean, Albus?"

Albus frowned. "Well, when Voldemort comes back it will be hard for you to return to him if you are involved with someone."

Severus smirked. "I won't be retuning. I can't." He rolled up his sleeve to bare his bare forearm. "We were able to remove it. I won't have to go back."

Albus frowned. "What about Mr Potter?"

"I legally adopted him. I can keep him safe."

Everyone looked to him in shock. Minerva sat forwards. "You adopted him? Why?"

He looked at her. "The same reason I adopted nine of your other lions."

She blinked. "You've... adopted before?"

He nodded. "Yes. I currently have twenty seven children, Harry included. Sadly, I may have to adopt more in the coming months. I always adopt the children I find being abused. Albus refuses to do anything to help them, so I have to take drastic measures."

Aurora nodded. "It's really sweet that you do, but it's sad that you have to go so far to protect your students."

Severus nodded. "We are their teachers. During the school year the heads of house have rights of In Loco Parentis. They _are_ our children during the school year. It is our duty, as teachers, and especially as heads of house, to protect and care for our students. What kind of teachers would we be if we cast them off to abusive homes at the end of every year? How would those kids feel, to have someone they are supposed to trust with their safety cast them off to be hurt and doing nothing to help? These kids need us, more than any of the other students. It's not right to cast them off and shove them aside because some people refuse to see what is happening right in front of them."

Aurora placed a hand on his chest and he took a deep breath, calming himself down. He pinched the bridge of his nose, surprised to find tears collecting there. He took a slightly shuddering breath. "I know what it's like to be hurt by the people who are supposed to love and care for you. I know what it's like to feel like there's no one you can trust, no one that will help you when you need it. I had no one but Lily growing up, but I couldn't trust her to get me out, she was my age. These kids... they have friends, but they don't have anyone they can actually trust with this. With their safety." Severus swallowed past the lump in his throat, embarrassed that his voice was cracking slightly.

"How can we call ourselves teachers, if we don't help our kids?"

He wiped a tear off the side of his face and took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

Aurora rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and he turned his head to bury her face in her hair.

Filius sat forwards, bracing his elbows on his knees. "How..." he swallowed, his voice unsteady. "How long have you been adopting the students?"

Severus shook his head and sat up straight. "Since my first year teaching."

Pomona nodded slowly. "Twenty six children in eleven years..."

He shook his head. "More. Some I was able to help without taking them from their homes or they were able to move in with a friend. I've only had to adopt twenty six. I've discovered... close to ninety by now."

The other teachers all sat back heavily. Sibyl shook her head. "Ninety... those poor children..."

Aurora nodded. "The ones Severus has adopted... they are great kids. They really are. But they've been hurt so badly they don't trust very easily. It'll be hard for them to adjust."

Severus nodded.

Pomona sat forwards. "What do we need to look out for? So we know who needs our help?"

Severus smiled sadly at them. The next hour was spent with him explaining various signs of abuse and how to recognise it, how to approach the child and how to help if they pushed you away. They all sat in awkward silence for a good ten minutes before the conversation moved onto the usual things, curriculum and such.

.oOo.

Severus packed the last of his belongings away and looked to Aurora, who was currently arranging her things on the Vanity. It was such a domestic thing that Severus had to stop for a moment to take it in. He'd never considered living with someone before this but, watching his _girlfriend_ arrange her things on the vanity in _their_ rooms... it created a picture of domestic bliss he had never thought would apply to him.

Aurora stood up and turned around. "You okay?"

He smiled and stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Of course." He smiled down and leant close. "Two weeks with no kids, whatever shall we do?"

Aurora smirked. "I... might have a few ideas. Although most of them involve your bed. Or your desks, the classroom, that lovely rug in your living room..."

Severus smirked. "I like your thinking."

.oOo.

"So, what had you so riled up when we were in the headmaster's office?" Severus asked, looking down at Aurora who was comfortable cuddled into his side.

She frowned. "Something about the Headmaster rubs me the wrong way. I'm worried he might try and separate us, or do something to tear us apart."

Severus nodded, running a hand through her hair. "He would. Definitely. Unfortunately for him, I no longer have the mark, so forcing me to remain a Death Eater is pointless, since I won't be able to go back anyway. He'll have to come up with something but it'll keep him on his toes for a while. We just need to be prepared. He'll likely try to take Harry away from me, or scare him away. But since I told Harry everything already he won't be able to."

Aurora nodded. "Well, whatever he comes up with, we'll be ready. There was something funny about Quirinus..."

"I'd noticed that too. He used to teach Muggle Studies. He went on a sabbatical two years ago. He is a very different man..."

Aurora nodded. "I'm also worried about Sibyl. She didn't seem right... I'm not sure what it was..."

Severus frowned. "I'll keep a close eye on her, see if I can spot it. If I see anything amiss I will help her of course."

Aurora smiled up at him. "You're so sweet."

"So you keep saying."

She smiled and reached up to kiss him.

.oOo.

Severus sat at the head table, teaching robes on, watching the students file in. He saw them all casting curious glances at both Aurora and Quirinus. He could hear speculations about who she was and which one was the new DADA teacher. The older students were curious about Quirinus' new turban. Severus admitted he was curious as well. He wasn't the type for headwear two years ago.

He glanced around the hall and checked on his children, each one was doing fine and he was sure that Sebastian was settling Simon in his room in his quarters. He wasn't going to leave the kid at the Manor, even if he would have some of his older kids there.

Severus sat, watching the sorting. He clapped politely for each student as they were sorted. He nodded to Harry as the boy was sorted into Gryffindor and looked right to him for approval. As the last student was sorted Albus stood up to give his start of year speech.

"Welcome, Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." There was an applause and the food appeared on the table.

Severus turned to Aurora, whispering to her as they ate. He could hear conversations going on at the tables. The students were now more curious than ever about Aurora. They were both distracted as they heard Harry from the Gryffindor table.

"That's my parents you're talking about." He was glaring angrily at the boy in front of him. "I'd thank you not to say stuff like that."

The boy, a Weasley judging by the hair, scowled. "Parents? What are you talking about? You don't have any parents. They're dead."

The other three Weasley's at the table glared at him. Percival even covered his face with his hand, clearly embarrassed about his brother's behaviour.

Aurora stood up and followed Harry as he stormed out of the hall. Severus stood up and walked to behind Weasley. "I suggest you learn some tact, Mr Weasley, lest you do something you regret. Detention, from tomorrow night until you learn your lesson. Be thankful I'm not taking points." He stood up straight and followed after Aurora and Harry.

He found them just outside the hall, sitting next to the top of the staircase, legs hanging through the railings. He settled down next to Harry. "I did say I had a reputation."

Harry nodded and leant against him. "He was being really mean..."

Severus rested his head against Harry's. "Kids say cruel things without thinking. He's likely only parroting, and probably exaggerating, things his older brothers have told him. He has five."

Harry chuckled. "And I have fourteen, what's your point?"

Severus laughed. "Cheeky brat." He reached over and poked him in the side. "You know the truth. And they will soon too, since I won't have to pretend anymore. Thanks to you." Truthfully, it was like some huge weight had been lifted off him and he was able to completely relax for the first time in... ever. He had every intention of showing the entire school the person he had only ever shown his children. "Likely they won't stop talking about it for months. Until Halloween comes and takes the attention away of course."

Harry nodded.

Aurora wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Ready to go back in?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah." The three of them stood up and Harry smiled up at them "Thanks."

Severus ruffled his hair. "No problem." They headed back into the hall and Harry sat back at the Gryffindor table, avoiding Weasley this time. Severus and Aurora sat back at the head table and Severus cast a silent charm over their food to check for tampering but found nothing thankfully. Honestly, they would have to be an idiot to try something in front of so many people.

When dessert came around Severus chose not to have anything and was quite content to watch Aurora eat the ice cream. When the food was finally cleared away all faced turned to the headmaster as he stood up again. Severus looked out into a sea of sleepy faces and wondered not for the first time why the headmaster insisted on giving his speech _after_ the feast, when all the students were full and wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed after the long day.

"Ahem, just a few more words not that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forbidden forest is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do to remember that as well."

Severus looked over at the students. "There are giant, man-eating spiders in there called Acromantula. They don't leave the forest but if you go in, they may just grab you. The forest is dangerous and is not to be taken lightly." A lot of students looked at each other in shock and he could see the paling faces of those he knew to have been in there before.

Albus cast him a glance before turning back to the hall. "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hootch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

There was a flurry of whispers again and Severus rolled his eyes. "There have been some structural issues noted during our annual search of the castle. They are easily enough fixed but we don't want to take any chances for now. Your safety is our top priority." The whispers died down from 'curious excitement' to 'understanding with a hint of curiosity'.

Albus cast Severus another warning glance, this time longer, before turning back to the students. "We have two new members of Staff this year. Returning from his sabbatical to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts is Professor Quirrel." There was a polite applause for the old Muggle Studies teacher. "And assisting Professor Snape with Potions is Assistant Professor Aurora." She stood up and bowed slightly, her hair changing from golden blond to pale pink to a dark pink to blue, much to the amazement of the student population, who gave her a huge round of applause.

She sat back down. "No hard feelings, Quirrinus, but my hair changes colour. That's way cooler."

He nodded and smiled hesitantly. "Q-Quite unders-standable..."

Albus waited for the applause to settle down. "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"

Aurora raised an eyebrow as the words appeared above the staff table and the cacophony that is hundreds of students singing different songs simultaneously echoed through the room. Finally it ended with the Weasley twins singing it to a funeral march and the students were sent off to bed. Albus turned to Severus. "Why did you tell them it was a structural problem?"

"It was the first thing I could think of. There is no better motivation than 'you can't.' You tell a child they are not allowed somewhere they will find every way possible to go there. You give them a reason why, and the chances of them going significantly drops depending on your reason. It's like a parent telling a child they are not allowed a cookie. Without giving a reason they will just sneak behind your back and take one. If you tell then they can't have one because dinner is almost ready, but they can have one after, they won't take it."

Minerva nodded. "That does make sense. And telling the students about the Acromantula will deter some of the students from the forest for sure."

Severus nodded. "Children need rules explained to them or they won't follow them." He stood up. "Now, Albus, if that is all, I have a house to welcome back, and some first years to settle in." He wrapped an arm around Aurora's waist and led her from the hall.

The Slytherin common room was humming when they walked in. The students froze in shock at Severus' arm, still around Aurora's waist. "Welcome home, my snakes." He smiled slightly, greatly amused at how wary they were. "Now, for the sake of you first years, we need to cover some ground rules. The first, and most important. 'Slytherin is One. Slytherin is Family.' You are family. You stand united and you back each other up. The other houses will mistreat and hate you simply because of your house. You stand with each other and you support each other, no matter what. If you have an argument with one of your housemates, it is to be settled either in here, or in my office. You will not carry arguments out into the school."

The students all nodded, the older ones already knowing, but often needing reminding.

Severus nodded. "Now, while I may have heavily favoured you all in the past, now that I no longer have to pretend to be a Death Eater, I can teach properly. I will be working on the other teachers being fairer in handing out detentions as well as giving and taking points." Some of the students frowned and he pulled up his sleeve, baring his unmarked forearm for them all to see. "Make no mistake, this doesn't mean I will be going easy on you in class. Potions is a dangerous subject and you could get seriously hurt, if not _killed_, if you make a mistake." He levelled a serious glare to his students.

They all nodded nervously, still unsure of the situation.

Severus smirked slightly and went on with his other notifications and rules.

.oOo.

Severus looked through his classroom door to see his first class of the school year waiting outside. He pulled the door open further. "Enter." This class was seventh years thankfully. They all came in silently and took their seats. He walked to the front of the class. "Today will be a basic review session, we will cover all the preparation methods you have covered thus far and a few you may need that we have not yet covered. I will be giving you a few hints and tips as we go. If we finish early, you can leave early. Now, first and foremost, homework. Please hand in your summer assignments and write down your homework, which is written on the board."

There was a bit of shuffling as students pulled out homework and Severus and Aurora walked down the room collecting them. Severus noted the looks the students were giving him, Aurora and each other while they were writing out the homework assignment. He wasn't surprised. They were used to him being a spiteful, short tempered, to the point kind of man.

Severus stood behind his desk. "Now, first, since I know you won't concentrate until you ask, does anyone have _any_ questions?"

There was an awkward silence before Mary, one of his Hufflepuff children, raised a hand. "Sir, what will Professor Aurora be doing in class?"

Severus nodded to her. "She will mostly be walking around the room and assisting the younger years with their work, and for you and the sixth years she will be helping keep an eye on your cauldrons, since the potions in NEWT level are significantly trickier, and accidents happen."

Miss Light, a Gryffindor, held up her hand next. "Sir, what is your relationship with Professor Aurora?"

Severus smiled slightly. "We are lovers." There was a shocked silence before he shrugged. "Or you could say she's my girlfriend, whichever you prefer." If a silence could get more silent, this one just did. Severus barely held back a laugh, not wanting to give the poor children a heart attack. He could only imagine their faces if he proposed in front of them.

Obviously when he did 'pop the question' he was going to do so privately. Public proposals often led to disastrous weddings and often divorce in the Muggle world.

Once his students had pulled themselves together he started the lesson, demonstrating different methods and having them prepare the ingredients in front of them. They would all be checked and bottled for use in other lessons, mostly first years or if he was brewing something for the hospital wing. A lot of brewing time was actually ingredient preparation.

.oOo.

Classes had been back almost a month and things were going exceedingly well. A lot of his students were now turning in work to a significantly higher standard than before. The homework was still bad, but he figured not much could be done about that. A few had even asked him for help with homework, which was something that hadn't happened before.

As he predicted, he was the talk of the school, along with Aurora. Thankfully this had an unforeseen side affect.

Students were so focused on them, they completely ignored the third floor corridor.

Severus and the rest of the staff thought this brilliant, though if the headmaster's comment about being 'surprised at the lack of adventurous spirit' was anything to go by, he was hoping the students would go there. Or rather, one student in particular. He had a rather close eye on Harry and was constantly asking how he was doing. After the first time Severus pointed out his near obsession with the boy, the other members of staff stopped telling him anything.

Minerva did a good one, when he asked for the fifth time that meeting, she went on a nice long ramble about all of her students, starting from seventh year. Just before she got to the first years Filius began on his students. Pomona and he then both did the same. They then, finally told him how the first years were doing but very briefly brushed over each of them, Minerva saying, "It's far too early in the school year to really see how they are, especially since we don't know what they were like with their studies before they started here."

That had shut Albus up for a while and they were able to finish their meeting in peace.

Severus shook himself out of his thoughts and knocked on Minerva's door, having received a message from a rather urgent looking house-elf. She called him to entre. He stepped in and found Ronald Weasley and Molly Weasley sitting in front of Minerva's desk. The woman looked rather frazzled and judging by how red Molly's face was he could understand why.

"Severus. Thank you for coming. Molly here has some concerns about Ronald's detentions. He claims you are treating him unfairly and causing him undue stress with all these detentions."

Molly nodded. "You said he has to serve them until he learns his lesson. I think he's done more than enough for that!"

Severus sat on the edge of Minerva's desk. "Molly, during the sorting feast, your son showed a lack of tack worthy of the history books. I adopted Harry at the beginning of August because I deemed his home life to be completely unacceptable. During the feast, I do not know what your son said exactly, but I heard Harry get quite upset with him. To which he replied, and a quote, 'You don't have any parents. They're dead.'"

Molly bristled, partially from embarrassment, partially from parental anger. "That is no reason to give him so many detentions! He's been rubbing his hands raw!"

Ronald blushed.

Severus frowned. "I don't see how. I have him sat at a desk in the corner of my office, reading sociology, etiquette and psychology books. I assign one chapter for him to read and once he's read it, I quiz him about it. It he shows any level of understanding I move onto the next section. The chapters aren't long. So far he has not been able answer any of my questions to my satisfaction. I am trying to get him to understand why what he said upset Harry, and how to phrase something like that in a more sensitive manner."

Molly bristled further. "Are you questioning my parenting methods?"

Severus frowned. "None of your other children have shown this lack of understanding of social means. William, Charles and Percival were and are model students. Percival is a bit standoffish but he has close friends and is capable of being tackful if needed. While the twins are not so much academics, they have never gotten in trouble for their interactions with other students. Even their pranks are acceptable, and having been a victim of relentless pranking during my school years I don't take to it well."

Ronald snorted and mumbled. "Yeah, well you probably deserved it."

Severus frowned at him. "I heard that."

Ronald paled significantly.

Severus looked back at Molly. "That is what I am talking about. Detentions are supposed to teach a child something. If a student is copying homework, I set them to copying a document either manually a few times or with a charm until I have enough for an entire year group. If a student is caught bullying I have them read some psychology articles and thesis on how bullying and oppressive behaviour affects mental health. That is what detentions are for, to teach a child that they have done something wrong, and stop them from doing it again. Ronald has yet to understand why what he did was wrong, hence the continued detentions."

Minerva sat forwards in her chair. "What I want to know is why you think he is rubbing his hands raw."

Molly frowned down at Ronald who went bright red.

What followed was a fifteen minute lecture and she dragged him into Minerva's quarters and when they came out his face was redder than ever and he was limping slightly. Severus almost winced in sympathy.

Molly looked right at Severus. "I'm sorry for my son's behaviour. He will try harder from now on."

Ronald nodded.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the boy and raised an eyebrow. "And will you think before you speak?"

Ronald nodded. "Yes sir."

Severus nodded. "Very well then. Consider your detentions served. Do not talk so carelessly about the deceased again, Mr Weasley."

"Yes sir."

Severus nodded and inclined his head towards Minerva and Molly before turning to leave. Just before he shut the door behind him he hesitated and turned back to Molly. "You may wish to speak with the twins. From what I've seen they have a lot of potential in potions. If they applied themselves they could go far." He nodded to her again and shut the door, heading back down to his rooms.

.oOo.

Severus sat at the head table watching over the students as they ate the Halloween feast. He smirked as he noticed all of his children eating proper healthy foods. He knew they would all be eating a lot of sweets when they came to the tables but he always told them he wanted them to eat a full, proper meal beforehand. After the first time, they understood. With their belly so full of food, they didn't eat as many sweets and as such didn't have a stomach ache the next day.

He cast a critical gaze over the rest of the school. He had noticed nine upper year girls on diets and had passed their names onto their heads of house. All of them were now eating properly. He had noticed three underweight first years but when he took each of them to Poppy only one was dangerously thin. The other two were siblings and explained that they didn't have much food in the house at all, since their dad couldn't work anymore and their mom died a few years ago. It made sense since their belongings were clearly from the second hand shops.

He made a mental note to visit their father to confirm.

The girls certainly seemed to be eating alright here and had easily put the weight on, being cleared for flying classes (a cover for needing the weight check in the first place, to avoid them having to explain about not having enough money for food).

Severus was just looking over to another child that had caught his concern when the doors to the great hall opened and Quirinus ran in, "Troll! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know..." he collapsed into a dead faint on the floor.

The students immediately panicked. His children all looked to him and he made a 'calm down' gesture.

Albus stood up. "SILENCE!" his voice echoed and easily cut through the din. "Students are to remain calm and return to their dormitories. Teachers, will follow me to the dungeons."

Severus stood up. "First things first Albus!" he turned to the hall. "Everyone look around you and find your dorm mates. If anyone is not here. Call out their name." There was a few moments of silence.

"Hermione Granger!"

"Penelope Clearwater!"

"Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass."

After several moments no more names were called out.

Severus nodded and clicked his fingers. Four house elves popped up next to him. "Miss' Granger, Clearwater, Greengrass and Davis are missing somewhere in the school. Find them and take them back to their common rooms." The elves nodded and vanished. He looked up at the students who were all looking to him for guidance. "Now, since both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff dorms are _in _the dungeons, we are going to stay here. Seventh and sixth years, stay close to the door. Fifth year prefects, guard this door." He pointed to the door to the side. "Poppy, see to Quirinus. Sibyl, Charity and Pomona stay here. Everyone else, let's go." He swept down the hall, the other teachers following him easily.

They were just about to go down the stairs when Aurora stopped. "Wait. This way!" she ran down the corridor and the others hesitated a moment before following. Aurora hesitated slightly at the staircase before going up. At the top she hesitated a second before going left down the corridor.

Minerva huffed quietly as she jogged just behind her. "Do you know where you're going?"

Aurora nodded. "Footprints."

They all looked down and saw the corridor had bits of mud and other unmentionable substances scattered about it. They got to an intersection and Aurora went down the one with the mud.

Severus jogged alongside her, easily keeping pace. "I didn't even think to look at the floor."

Aurora nodded. "I've tracked people before. A troll is no trouble compared to trying to track down a twelve year old runaway."

Severus nodded, understanding how hard it would be to find someone on the streets of London.

They rounded another corner and saw the troll duck its head into the girls' bathroom. Everyone raised their wands and Filius shouted. "Stunners on three!" everyone tensed at the troll stood up straight. "One!" it turned around. "Two!" it tilted its head to one side. "Three!" it went to take a step forwards and was hit by multiple stunners, several hitting it right in the eyes.

It fell backwards and landed with a huge thump on the floor.

Severus carefully walked forwards and knelt next to it before sighing and standing up. "He's out."

Minerva frowned. "How did it get all the way up here? Quirinus had only just run into the hall to tell us it was in the dungeons... it couldn't have gotten here this fast..."

Severus frowned. "Unless it wasn't in the dungeons at all... we'd have been looking for it for age down there before coming back up, probably thinking it came out somewhere else... it would have been a perfect distraction to get to the third floor..." he glanced at Albus, "You know what I think."

Albus shook his head. "I have every faith in Quirinus."

"I don't. I'm going to check the third floor. Aurora, can you see to the Slytherins?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes, of course. Be safe." She nodded and turned, heading back down the halls towards the great hall.

Severus turned and carried on down the hallway, rushing off to the third floor. A quick revealing charm told him fluffy was the only thing inside the room. He carefully opened the door, peeking inside. The trap door was still shut so he closed the door, blocking out Fluffy's growls. Honestly, who called a Cerberus 'Fluffy'?

He reapplied the locking charm on the door, as well as reinforcing it with several other spells and an alarm ward before melting into the shadows to wait.

.oOo.

i wrote this whole bloody thing in one day. This story wouldn't leave me alone and has been stewing at the back of my mind for about a year now. i wrote out a basic plan of it and uploaded that as 'A destined child' here in my dumping ground but the whole things hasn't come together bore now. i'm honestly surprised by this. it's massive...


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